Nu Alpha Kappa Fraternity, Inc. National Alumni Association Awards Scholarships To Three Brothers

NAK National Scholarship winners at Pledgefest 2015 in Cal Poly Pomona. From left to right: Gerardo Lorenzo (scholarship winner), Edwin Gonzalez (scholarship winner), Gerardo Gaytan (Director of Scholarship), and Angel Barajas (NAA CEO).

POMONA, CALIF.  – The National Alumni Association of Nu Alpha Kappa Fraternity, Inc. awarded three scholarships to brothers of the organization on Saturday, November 14 at a national event at the campus of Cal Poly Pomona.

The three brothers awarded a NAK national scholarship were:

• Gerardo Lorenzo, National Scholarship winner – Gerardo is majoring in Broadcasting and Electronic Communication Arts at San Francisco State University. He is a founding member of the Alpha Beta Chapter at SFSU and currently the chapter president.
• Edwin Gonzalez, National Scholarship winner – Edwin is working on his Master’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering at San Diego State University. Edwin crossed into the NAK brotherhood at the Kappa Chapter at the University of California, Davis.
• Jorje Cruz, Arreola Family Award winner – Edwin is working on his Master’s in Educational Leadership at Sacramento State University. Jorje crossed into the NAK brotherhood at the Kappa Chapter at the University of California, Davis.

“With increasing tuition costs at every university, each and every one of our brothers have felt the burden one way or another,” said Angel Barajas, NAA CEO. “Providing a scholarship helps to alleviate economic hardship thus allowing the ability to focus on our number one goal, academics. Therefore, I’m proud to announce the National Alumni Association was able to provide three scholarships to deserving brothers at Pledgefest 2015 in Cal Poly Pomona. I would like to thank all the donors, NAA Board, and the Arreola Family for making this dream happen.”

Through the donations of the NAK alumni base and a generous donation from founding father Tony Arreola & his family, NAK was able to launch its National Scholarship in 2014.

The National Scholarship is awarded to two brothers annually, and the Arreola Family Award is presented to one brother. These awards being expanded so as to help more brothers. The inaugural winners in 2014 were brothers Eric Uribe from the Omicron Chapter and Orlando Villa from the Eta Chapter.

These awards are gifted to deserving NAK brothers who uphold and exemplify the fraternity’s pillars of academics, brotherhood and culture. An emphasis was placed on those brothers who have demonstrated either strong financial need (such as being undocumented) and/or active involvement within NAK and their community.

“We recognize the importance of obtaining an education,” said Gerardo Gaytan, NAA director of scholarship. “We realize the value a degree holds, as it opens doors to a myriad of opportunities. This year, we awarded three scholarships at Pledgefest 2015. The expression of thanks from the recipients was a clear indication that this program truly helps our brothers. Moments like these motivate us to provide more programs and work hard to help all our brothers.”

To learn more about the NAK National Scholarship program, please contact NAK National Alumni Association President Angel Barajas at Angel.Barajas@NAKinc.org.

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The NAK National Alumni Association was established in 2014. We are committed to:

* Supporting all NAK undergraduate and alumni members in their life-long commitment to the fraternity’s core ideals of education, culture & brotherhood.

* Establishing the principles and ideals of NAK into our civic duties and business communities to provide leadership and service to the best of our ability.

* And helping continue the growth and development of NAK alumni as leaders, professionals, brothers, and men.