The Henry B. Gonzalez Award was named in honor of its first recipient. The award pays tribute to leaders in the community who embody Gonzalez’ spirit of public service and dedication to our community. The late congressman Henry B. Gonzalez, a graduate of St. Mary’s University, served the San Antonio and South Texas community as city councilman, a state legislator and U.S. Congressman. The Henry B. Gonzalez scholarship has been established to provide financial assistance to law students at St. Mary’s Law School who have demonstrated a high level of commitment to the Hispanic community.

The Henry B. Gonzalez Award was named in honor of its first recipient. The award pays tribute to leaders in the community who embody Gonzalez’ spirit of public service and dedication to our community. The late congressman Henry B. Gonzalez, a graduate of St. Mary’s University, served the San Antonio and South Texas community as city councilman, a state legislator and U.S. Congressman. The Henry B. Gonzalez scholarship has been established to provide financial assistance to law students at St. Mary’s Law School who have demonstrated a high level of commitment to the Hispanic community.

The Award was created seven years ago as a way to honor the hard and noble work of our Jurists who inspire St. Mary’s Hispanic Law Alumni Association with his or her dedication to the legal and judicial profession. In choosing this recipient of this award, St. Mary’s Hispanic Law Alumni Association seeks to honor those Jurists who embody Henry B. Gonzalez’ spirit of public service and dedication to our community.

The Award was created to honor Sister Grace Walle’s tireless service to the St. Mary’s Law students. The St. Mary’s Hispanic Law Student’s Association chooses the recipient of this award and seeks to honor those individuals who embody Sister Grace’s hard and tireless work with St. Mary’s Law Students.

The scholarship is named after Henry B. Gonzalez, who was the first Hispanic American elected to the Texas Senate in 1956 and the first Hispanic American elected to U.S. House of Representatives in 1961. This scholarship has been established to provide financial assistance to law students at St. Mary’s Law School who have demonstrated a high level of commitment to the Hispanic Community.

The late Ana Laura Lopez of Laredo, died of breast cancer at the young age of 32 soon after becoming a licensed attorney in the State of Texas in 1991. A graduate of St. Mary’s University School of Law, she was committed to the mission of the HLAA. In her memory, the Ana Lopez Scholarship seeks to assist law students who demonstrate a future commitment to the need of the Hispanic community.

HLAA also offers bar grants to the St. Mary Law School 3Ls with special financial need during their transition from graduate to licensed attorney while continuing their commitment to improving the Hispanic community.