Graduate student Héctor García has been awarded the Rita Torres Scholarship given by Bibliotecas Para La Gente, the Northern California chapter of REFORMA. Bibliotecas Para La Gente’s mission is “to promote the development of library services to the Spanish-speaking and Latino population of Northern California.”

The scholarship is valued up to $3,000 and awarded to “a new or a continuing Masters of Library and Information Graduate Student who has demonstrated an interest in furthering the goals of BPLG in providing library service to the Spanish-speaking and Latino communities.”

García is in his first year of the Master of Library and Information Science degree program at the San José State University School of Information and chose the iSchool because he believes it’s one of the best MLIS programs in the nation. Receiving this scholarship will help financially toward earning his master’s degree, according to García. It also affirms his chosen career path in librarianship. “I have the moral support and accountability of this organization that chose to believe in me and in my career goals,” says García.

García currently works as a bilingual community library specialist at the Marin County Free Library System and is the current chair for the Spanish Services Working Group. García also plans to open an educational center in his hometown of Mexico, as well as collaborating with Libraries for the World to open in Guatemala.

Janice Garcia, the BPLG scholarship coordinator, says García is the “face of the present and the future of libraries.” She states that García was chosen for the scholarship due to his accomplishments and having “glowing” recommendations.

The Rita Torres Scholarship will open again next year. Students interested in applying for the Rita Torres Scholarship can find out more information on the BPLG scholarship web page.