The Division of Social Sciences is honored to announce the Recipients of the 2025 Horacio Roque Ramirez Central American Studies Scholarship. Below is the list of two Recipients and Honorable Mentions! Awardees will be honored at a ceremony that will take place on Wednesday May 28 from 10am-11am at the McCune Room (6020 HSSB). 

Awardees

Melissa Romero, Sociology and Linguistics
Sofia Cifuentes, Economics and Accounting with a minor in Latin American and Iberian Studies

Honorable Mentions
Emma Hirsch, Global Studies with area focus Latin America and Environmental Studies 
Maya Sanchez-Kapoor, Sociology
Jasmine Altamirano, Chicana/o Studies
Leo Safir, Global Studies
Sasha Alvarez, Chicana/o Studies

The Horacio Roque Ramirez Central American Studies Scholarship was created by the Division of Social Sciences and is now administered by Center for Latin American and Iberian Research (CLAIR), where the Central American Studies Lab is housed. The purpose of this scholarship is to celebrate Central American history, culture, community, and studies at UC Santa Barbara. The scholarship is in honor of the life and legacy of Professor Horacio Roque Ramirez (1969-2015). Dr. Roque Ramirez was a faculty member in the Department of Chicana/o Studies who passed December 2015. His ethnographic and archival research focused on Central Americans in the US, queer Latinx community life in San Francisco, and Latino sexuality and hope in an era of AIDS and deportation. At UCSB, he developed the Central American-based courses “Central Americans in the U.S.” and “Salvadoran Diasporas”, among the first within the UC system. 

If you would like to support, you can make a donation towards the scholarship through the Make a Donation: https://giving.ucsb.edu/Funds/Give?id=477.

Event Contact: For more information on the Awards Ceremony and/or the scholarship, email: Giovanni Batz at gbatz@ucsb.edu