As a first-generation college student, Shontol Torres Burkhalter wasn’t always sure she’d make it to the university level.
Growing up in the Four Corners area of Utah and Colorado, Burkhalter said she was motivated to make it to college by her family, who came to the United States from Mexico.
“My family was very concerned when I wanted to move to Salt Lake City to go to the U, but I always wanted to go to college,” she said.
Now a senior in health promotion and education and sociology, Burkhalter said Ivory Homes made this goal a possibility.
“Receiving the Ivory Homes scholarship reassured my family that I would be taken care of at the U,” Burkhalter said. “It really meant the difference between going to a four-year university and a community college.”
Last week, homebuilding company Ivory Homes awarded 12 scholarships to Latino/a students along the Wasatch Front to attend the U.
Ivory Homes employee and scholarship organizer Matt Broadbent said the scholarship program came out of the company’s hope to give back to the families they often employ.
“It’s a recognition of the influence Hispanic and Latino students can and will certainly have on, not only the construction industry, but the economy as a whole,” Broadbent said.
This year marked Ivory Homes’ fourth year of giving scholarships to U students. Since the program was established, Ivory Homes has awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships through the company and The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Most scholarships are given to first-year students and can be renewed throughout the years. Students are chosen based on academic merit, community service, leadership and involvement in construction.
U alumnus Clark Ivory, CEO of Ivory Homes, said his desire to create the scholarship program stemmed from wanting to give back to the U and hire more Latino/a workers.
“I wanted to hire more Hispanic graduates to work for our company, but we found it difficult because not that many applied,” Ivory said.
Now, some Ivory Homes scholars are working for the company.
This summer, 2005 recipient Isaac Aguayo, a junior in business management, worked alongside supervisors helping on jobs and assisting in the field. He will work part-time during the school year.
“My whole goal is to do construction and own my own construction company,” Aguayo said. “They gave me the opportunity to work as an intern or work with construction managers.”
At a luncheon for the scholarship recipients Aug. 16, Ivory urged the students to keep giving back to the program by recruiting other Latino/a high school students to apply.
“You can really help each other and help build a movement that could change the university, change the way other Hispanics and Latinos look at higher education and elevate their heights,” Ivory said.
Burkhalter encouraged the scholars to find support in each other during their university experience.
“Your presence adds depth and meaning that without you is absent,” she said.