A waterfront room in Mukilteo will fill with mariachi music, dinner service, and scholarship checks next month as the Overcoming Adversity Cariño Scholarship Foundation hosts its third annual award ceremony and fundraiser. The event, scheduled for September 11 at the Rosehill Community Center, is built around a mission the foundation states plainly: every student deserves the opportunity to pursue higher education regardless of financial barriers.
According to The Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce, the evening will include scholarship awards, mariachi performances, networking, and dinner, with organizers framing the night as both a celebration of Latino scholars and an investment in the next generation of leaders. Doors open at 5 p.m. ahead of a 5:30 p.m. formal program, and tickets are listed at $81 per person on Eventbrite for the 18-and-older gathering, which includes free on-site parking, according to Eventbrite.
A Founder Who Once Couldn't Access Federal Aid
The foundation traces back to Jonnathan Yepez Cariño, a Mariner High School alumnus and Pacific Premier Bank executive who emigrated from Mexico at age 9, according to HeraldNet. He was unable to access FAFSA or standard federal loans when applying to college because of his undocumented status, a barrier that later became the founding motivation for the scholarship he now runs. Beyond the foundation, Yepez Cariño chairs the Latino Committee and serves as treasurer for the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce, and he sits on the City of Marysville's Diversity Advisory Board, per the same HeraldNet reporting. He also teaches financial literacy classes across Snohomish County high schools, the outlet notes.
In its initial award structure, the foundation set tiered scholarship amounts ranging from $1,500 for third place up to $5,000 for first place, with funds sent directly to students' post-secondary institutions rather than to the students themselves, HeraldNet reported in 2023. That direct-to-institution approach reflects a broader philosophy behind the foundation's design, aimed at ensuring the money reaches tuition rather than getting diverted to other household needs.
Who Can Apply, and Why the Rules Exist
To qualify for the Overcoming Adversity Cariño Scholarship, applicants must be Latinx high school seniors or college students up to age 26 living in Snohomish, King, or Skagit counties who demonstrate financial need and have overcome personal adversity, according to a post from Avance Accounting Tax on Facebook. Preference goes to applicants who lack access to federal financial aid, including undocumented students and DACA recipients, the post states.
That eligibility language points to a gap in Washington's financial aid landscape. The state's REAL Hope Act, passed in 2014, opened state-funded financial aid to undocumented students and DACA recipients who meet residency requirements through the Washington Application for State Financial Aid, or WASFA, according to Western Washington University. But that same law does not extend to federal programs — non-citizen students remain excluded from federal loans, Pell Grants, and many traditional private scholarships, as HeraldNet's original 2023 reporting on the foundation's founding noted. It's the space between those two systems that the Cariño Foundation was built to fill.
Rooted in a Growing Local Community
The foundation operates in a county where Hispanic or Latino residents make up roughly 13% of Snohomish County's population of more than 844,000, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Snohomish County is Washington's third most populous county, and the foundation's outreach spans Snohomish, King, and Skagit counties combined.
The Cariño Foundation has been building visibility within Snohomish County's business community ahead of the September event. Earlier this month, the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce hosted a Latino Leadership Networking gathering where the foundation served as an official sponsor, introducing its mission to local business owners, the chamber said in a Facebook post.
A Familiar Venue for Local Scholarship Nights
The Point Elliott Room at Rosehill Community Center, where the September 11 ceremony will take place, offers panoramic waterfront views of Puget Sound and Possession Sound and can seat up to 216 guests for dinner functions, according to a rental packet from the City of Mukilteo. The venue has previously hosted large-scale scholarship events, including the South Everett/Mukilteo Rotary Club Foundation's May ceremony, where $81,000 in scholarships went to graduating seniors from schools including Mariner and Kamiak high schools, according to the Mukilteo Beacon.
Community members interested in attending the Cariño Foundation's September 11 fundraiser can reserve tickets through Eventbrite ahead of the 5:30 p.m. program start.
