The ACEH Scholarship Story, 2013-2025
A strong social justice activist and advocate for education, Rebecca (Becky) Arenas was a force to be reckoned with in Holland. Among her many community connections, she served on the board of ACEH from 2002 to 2009. When she died in 2011 at age 76, we thought about how we could honor her life and work.
We found our answer in the Gary Pepe Memorial Fund, which was set up with donations from his family and friends after his untimely death in 2005. Gary, too, was a social justice warrior, a mentor to youth, and served as ACEH president in 2003. With monies from that fund, plus other donations and proceeds from our annual silent auction fundraiser, in 2013 ACEH established the Rebecca Arenas Scholarship at the TRIO/Upward Bound program at Hope College, to provide funds for an outstanding high school student of color who would be the first in his or her family to attend college.
Can you help us grow this fund to recognize and support our community’s youth? To contribute, please scroll to the bottom of this page and click on the Donate button. Thank you!
We found our answer in the Gary Pepe Memorial Fund, which was set up with donations from his family and friends after his untimely death in 2005. Gary, too, was a social justice warrior, a mentor to youth, and served as ACEH president in 2003. With monies from that fund, plus other donations and proceeds from our annual silent auction fundraiser, in 2013 ACEH established the Rebecca Arenas Scholarship at the TRIO/Upward Bound program at Hope College, to provide funds for an outstanding high school student of color who would be the first in his or her family to attend college.
- In 2019, we set up a second award, the ACEH Education Scholarship, also at TRIO/Upward Bound.
- In 2020, we doubled our annual scholarships to four, with two new winners chosen by Latin Americans United for Progress (LAUP).
- In 2021, funds were granted for the Fronse and Germaine Pellobon-Smith Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) Scholarship Award, established by Maple Avenue Ministries and announced at the Juneteenth Freedom Festival.
Can you help us grow this fund to recognize and support our community’s youth? To contribute, please scroll to the bottom of this page and click on the Donate button. Thank you!
2025 ACEH Scholarship Winners
Upward Bound Towards a College Education
Left to right: Mariah Collier, Geira Gomez.
Congratulations to the Hope College TRIO Upward Bound student winners of ACEH Scholarships for this 2025 year.
Mariah Collier is graduate of Holland High School and Geira Gomez is a graduate of West Ottawa High School.
Geira will attend Aquinas College this fall to study Psychology. Mariah plans to continue at Davenport University to complete a degree in Business Management.
Left to right: Brigitte Wooten, Geira Gomez, Yadira Martinez-Castillo, Kim Ludwig.
Former Upward Bound student and current ACEH Board Member Brigitte Wooten and Kim Ludwig, ACEH Treasurer, came to Graves Hall on the Hope College campus on May 30th to present Upward Bound students with the 2025 Rebecca Arenas Scholarship and The ACEH Scholarship, funded by generous donors to the Alliance for Cultural and Ethnic Harmony. Geira Gomez and Yadira Martinez-Castillo, Director of TRIO Upward Bound at Hope and also an alum of the program, were present to accept the award.
TRIO Upward Bound’s assistant director, Toby Hutchins, said: “We are grateful that ACEH chooses to award scholarships to our students. This appreciation goes far beyond a monetary donation and also goes to the many hours spent with our TRIO Upward Bound students over the years.”
TRIO/Upward Bound, a national program, is designed to work with high school students from first-generation college and low-income families by helping them develop the motivation and academic skills they need to successfully complete high school, enroll in a college or university, and explore career options. It was established at Hope College in 1968 and has served several thousand students over its 57 years on campus.
This month, two additional scholarships will be awarded to students involved with I AM Academy. In previous years, ACEH scholarships have gone to students who were part of Latin Americans United for Progress (LAUP) and Maple Avenue Ministries/Juneteenth.
I AM College Bound
Left to right: Benjamin Kikstra, Brigitte Wooten, Aubree Veltema.
I AM Academy winners of this year’s ACEH funded scholarships are Benjamin Kikstra for The Fronse and Germaine Pellebon-Smith Kujichagulia Self-Determination Scholarship and Aubree Veltema for The NIA Purpose Scholarship.
ACEH Board member Brigitte Wooten made the presentations during I AM Academy’s Youth Night June 19, 2025. Board member Ann Weller, was also present.
A graduate of Zeeland High School, Benjamin plans to attend Grand Rapids Community College to study journalism, with the goal of becoming a sports journalist. Commenting on the essay he wrote to apply for the scholarship, he said, “I guess my essay is about learning a tough lesson: never count your chickens before they hatch. My attitude before and after the district semifinals game between Zeeland HS and West Ottawa HS is a perfect example. We lost to our rival, and the taunting I got afterward from a West Ottawa student was brutal—and, I’ll admit, I probably deserved it.”
Back row, left to right: Henry Cherry, Benjamin Kikstra, Lindsay Cherry. Front row, left to right: Brigitte Wooten, Ann Weller, Aubree Veltema.
Aubree graduated from West Ottawa High School and is headed to Western Michigan University to study engineering or finance. In her essay, she described her decision to change schools just before she entered high school: “It didn’t sound too nerve-wracking…but when I got there, it hit me and I felt lonely. Everyone around had friends, and I didn’t. But it wasn’t till I started to reach out to people and get out of my head that I started to see a change. I talked to more people in my classes, sat with them at lunch, and did more activities outside of class. I was able to make so many new friends and enjoy my high school experience. … I was definitely nervous to reach out, and I just wanna thank I AM for helping me with those connections and always teaching me about opportunities and putting in the work to create them.”
I AM Academy is a nonprofit community organization, established in Holland in 2020 by educators Henry and Lindsay Cherry “to empower Black and multiracial youth to see their potential, experience joy, become confident leaders, and drive positive change in our community.” The I AM Academy and its staff offer a variety of activities, experiences, and opportunities for area youth.
Thank you, donors, and best wishes to the TRIO Upward Bound and I AM Academy students as they move forward in life to continue their education in college!