American InterContinental University South Florida Hosts Fifth Annual "Mujeres Latinas" Awards
March 13, 2009
Contacts:
Karla Lopez
AIU South Florida campus
954‐446‐6323
klopez@aiufl.edu
Alyson Moses Edelman
312‐297‐7430
alyson.moses@edelman.com
Hispanic Women Recognized During International Women’s Month In “Tribute to Her Achievements”
WESTON, Fla., March 13, 2009– American InterContinental University (AIU) South Florida hosted the Fifth Annual “Tributo a sus Logros” Awards to honor powerful Hispanic women. The awards were presented at AIU’s Weston campus on Tuesday, March 10, following a musical performance by the Avila Children and Youth Orchestra.
Carinés Moncada from NBC/Telemundo hosted the event, introducing women of the community to present the awards to each individual recipient, and calling on the recipients to briefly share their personal stories. Hispanic Broward commissioner, Diana Wasserman‐Rubin, served as a speaker and presenter at the event.
Colombian Scarlett Martinez, an AIU student, was among the 16 women recognized at the ceremony. Martinez joined the military in 2003 and eventually deployed to Iraq. She attended AIU Online while in Iraq, was wounded in battle and returned to the U.S. in 2007 to receive the “Purple Heart” award. Today, Martinez is a third‐year full‐time Fashion Marketing and Design student at AIU South Florida; all while being the mom of a 9‐month‐old daughter and working full‐time at a law firm as a legal assistant.
“I am thrilled to receive an award from Mujeres Latinas and be named among such incredible women,” Martinez said. “It was my mother’s dream to become a fashion designer as well, but she wasn’t able to do it as she was a single mother of two and had limited opportunities. I owe my success to her and to my AIU professors who support me in achieving my education goals and professional dreams. Without their assistance, I would not be where I am today.”
AIU’s Director of Marketing, Karla Lopez, presented Martinez with the award, for which she was nominated by Juanita Alcena, Fashion Marketing and Design Chair.
“We’re proud of Scarlett’s achievements and those of all the other recipients. The ‘Tributo as sus Logros” Awards give us the opportunity to recognize local Hispanic women and their accomplishments in our own backyard,” Lopez said. “Hispanics comprise 30 percent of our student body, so they are an important demographic for us, and it’s truly an honor to host this event.”
Local award winners are Virginia Román (Uruguay), Malexys Morales (Venezuela), Bibiana Salmon (Ecuador), Adriana Gómez Lenis (Colombia), Beatriz Olavarría (Venezuela), Iliana Mendoza De Plata (Nicaragua), Erika G. Ruiz (Venezuela), Laura Prado (Argentina), Gabriela Laguna (Venezuela), María Del Rocío Flores (Colombia), Sonia Maquilon (Ecuador), Elizabeth Bermudez‐Hernandez (Colombia), Claudia Hernandez (Colombia); Gloria Castellanos (Venezuela), Scarlett Martínez (Colombia), and Lideck Matamoros (Nicaragua).
All women awarded at the “Tributo a sus Logros” ceremony will be featured online at www.WomenAchieve.org, a Web site that allows women to collaborate while advancing their education, exploring their career options and mapping out their futures.
For more information about “Tributo a sus Logros,” call 786-253.4346. For more information about AIU, call 1‐866‐AIU‐GRAD (1‐866‐248‐4723), or visit www.aiufl.edu.
About American InterContinental University
American InterContinental University (AIU), established in Europe in 1970, awards Associate, Bachelor’s, and Master’s degrees in a variety of disciplines. The AIU network includes seven campuses: AIU Buckhead (Atlanta, GA); AIU Dunwoody (GA); AIU South Florida (Weston, FL); AIU Los Angeles (CA), AIU Houston (TX), AIU London (England); and AIU Online (based in Illinois). For additional information, please visit www.aiuniv.edu. AIU is a member of the Career Education Corporation (NASDAQ:CECO) network of universities, colleges, and schools.