What do a San Diego Charger and a bestselling author have in common with a police chief and two education advocates? They will all be honored for their outstanding community leadership on April 23 at UC San Diego’s 2009 Fiesta de las Estrellas celebration to benefit undergraduate scholarships. Fiesta, in its 12^th year hosted by the UCSD Hispanic Scholarship Council, has raised nearly $1 million in scholarship funds — giving 63 deserving students the opportunity to receive a world-class UC San Diego education. 

The Estrellas (“stars” in Spanish) are outstanding leaders who are making a positive impact on youth around the globe—from San Diego to Santo Domingo.  This year’s honorees include:

Luis Castillo, San Diego Chargers #93

Excellence in Community Service

The powerful defensive end serves as role model for future generations, encouraging young people to pursue their dreams. In addition to helping abused and neglected children locally, Castillo returns to the Dominican Republic annually to host a youth football clinic.



Chief Adolfo Gonzalez, Ph.D. Chief of Police, National City

Excellence in Public Service

Directing all patrol, investigative and administrative operations for the National City Police Department, Gonzalez works to improve police services, reduce the crime rate and safeguard San Diego’s second oldest city against terrorism.

Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, journalist, screenwriter, movie producer and best-selling author

Excellence in the Arts

This best-selling author’s six novels include “The Dirty Girls Social Club,” published in 11 countries with more than 700,000 copies sold. Valdes-Rodriguez has been named one of the nation’s 25 most influential Hispanics by Time magazine.





David Valladolid, executive director, Parent Institute for Quality Education

Excellence in Education

Valladolid provides leadership for the nonprofit Parent Institute, which has had a positive impact on more than 1 million students, by helping parents and teachers collaborate to enable all children to achieve their greatest academic potential and someday attend college.

Christopher Yanov '99, founder and executive director, Reality Changers

Alumni Excellence

Before turning 30 years old, Yanov raised $1 million in scholarship funds for inner-city students to attend top-ranked universities such as UC San Diego. Reaching out to high-risk youth who wish to change their realities, Yanov’s program boasts more than 50 program graduates.

"We are pleased to honor these visionary leaders, who have used their time and talents to help young, promising students succeed," said UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox. "We are also proud to recognize the impressive students who have benefited from the scholarships generated from this annual event. These students are the future leaders of our region, the nation and the world."

UC San Diego has been recognized for excellence by top ranking organizations, including 7th best public university in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The university is open to all qualified students, and committed to supporting diversity and equal opportunity in its education, services, and administration, as well as research and creative activity.

Jessica Mendez '10 is a scholarship recipient who has benefited from the annual event. A Human Biology major, she plans to attend medical school after graduation.

"I made it my goal to be the first in my family to graduate from college," said Mendez. "Because of the generous scholarship support I've received, I am very close to achieving my goal. My parents and I were so excited when I received my acceptance letter to UC San Diego, and the scholarship greatly alleviated our worry of how to pay for college."

Mendez will be one of many students joining the Fiesta celebration to share how their scholarships have brought them one step closer to their dreams.

Sponsors for the 2009 Fiesta de las Estrellas program include the Jack in the Box Foundation; Union Bank of California, last year's Fiesta honoree for "Excellence in Business"; Barona Band of Mission Indians; Viejas Enterprises; Southwest Airlines; Gen-Probe; Qualcomm Incorporated; San Diego Padres and UC San Diego Student Affairs.

The April 23 celebration will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the UC San Diego Faculty Club. Tickets cost $150. Those interested in attending Fiesta de las Estrellas may contact Jennifer Leighton at (858) 822-1537. For additional details on the event and supporting undergraduate scholarships, please visit www.ucsdfiesta.ucsd.edu.

About UC San Diego's Hispanic Scholarship Council (HSC)

The Hispanic Scholarship Council at the University of California, San Diego, is dedicated to creating educational opportunities through scholarships for outstanding young men and women with limited resources. HSC scholarships are awarded in connection with the UC San Diego Chancellor's Scholars Program by student-to-fund matching to exceptional students of Hispanic heritage who demonstrate financial need, as well as to graduates of The Preuss School UCSD of any ethnicity who choose to attend the university. Because so many Latino students stay in San Diego after graduation-close to family and community-this support is an investment in the future of our region. For more information, visit www.studentsupport.ucsd.edu.