Not Just Smart, Latina Smart

Communications major wins first prize in Kmart's Latina Smart Competition.By Kelsi Loos, Office of Communications

Communications major wins first prize in Kmart's Latina Smart Competition.




By Kelsi Loos, Office of Communications

Freshman communications major in the Honors Humanities Program, Odalis Lopez, beat out nearly 200 students across the nation to win the $10,000 Latina Smart Fund award, Kmart announced March 2nd.

Latina Smart is a Facebook community funded by Kmart in order to reinforce positive images of Latinas, create a sense of community among the 25 million Latinas in the U.S., and encourage education.

Applicants submitted videos and essays to the Latina Smart Facebook page explaining what it means to be “Latina Smart.” The 50 entries with the most “likes” went on to an interview round. Finally, 20 contestants were selected to advance to the final round where a first prize winner ($10,000) and three runners up ($5,000) were chosen.

Lopez’s video submission defined Latina Smart as someone with these qualities:

Leadership
Active
Tenacious
Intelligent
Never Give Up
Agradecida (Grateful)

Lopez was the first of her family to graduate from high school. Not only did she graduate, but she became the first Hispanic Valedictorian at her high school, at the National Academy Foundation in Baltimore.

She has been involved in charitable projects, interned at Teach for America, and was the president of her high school class.

Her video entry can be seen on Youtube.