Loyola Marymount University’s Latino Alumni Association (LAA) awarded Nicolas Breceda, a senior mechanical engineering major and applied mathematics minor, the 2017 Donald P. Merrifield, S.J. Scholarship Award. The LMU LAA established this award in 1992 to honor senior Latino students who “exemplify the Jesuit tradition of academic excellence, leadership and commitment to social justice.”
During Breceda’s time at LMU he has been involved with the ACCESS program, a living learning community for freshmen science and engineering students. He is a member of the Society of Hispanic Engineers, the LMU crew team, the Latino Student Union, the Christian Life Community and is a founding member and the current treasurer of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Additionally, Breceda has attended service trips through Ignacio Companions and the Alternative Breaks program, and has served as a mentor for middle school students through the El Espejo program all while maintaining a high academic standard. Breceda truly embodies one of the pillars of a Jesuit education, “education of the whole person.”
LMU LAA was established in 1981 with the goal of developing programs and providing partial tuition scholarships to Latino students who demonstrate commitment to their academics and to the Los Angeles and LMU communities. In its 36 years LAA has awarded more than 1,740 scholarships totaling almost $5.7 million. This year the LAA awarded 92 scholarships to LMU students totaling more than $680,000.
