A New Legacy on Campus: Scholarship Recalls Life and Spirit of Rafael Rennella Date: Aug. 30, 2000 By: Mary Bridget Reilly Phone: (513) 556-1824 Photo by: Dottie Stover Archive: General News This fall marks the beginning of a legacy for Hispanic students on the UC campus. After years of effort, the Latino community -- both on campus and in the local region -- has raised the funds for a new annual scholarship that gives special meaning to the untimely death of a one-time UC student. The new $1,000 Rafael Rennella Scholarship, awarded to anthropology senior Elena Teran, 21, of Cheviot, represents far more than needed financial assistance for Teran. For Teran and for the many others who helped to create it, the scholarship is a valued legacy memorializing the young graduate, Rafael Rennella, who died in 1995 at the age of 26. "It's an honor to receive the scholarship. We've worked toward this goal for so long. It's great to finally achieve it," explained Teran, adding, "It's spectacular to be the first recipient. I want to reinforce and keep up the standards that Rafael had. I want people to know about his contributions and to emulate them myself, to live up to his standards. I know this will mean a lot to Rafael's family." Indeed, Rennella's parents, two brothers and sister confirm that this new UC scholarship has brought them hope in their grief. Viviana Rennella, Rafael's sister, said she is amazed at the hard work and effort so many people put into making the scholarship a reality. "I am deeply touched that many people outside the family believed in Rafael and helped to create something to symbolize all that he stood for. Rafael worked very hard to get through engineering school at UC. He was also coming to a point in his life where he was learning to embody all of his heritage within the context of American life, and he sought ways to share that with others. Rafa had an innate ability to always be there when you needed him, and he was learning to be a teacher and mentor for others." When remembering Rafael, whose family came to this country as political refugees from Argentina in 1979, fellow students and co-workers seem to settle on the word "welcoming." As a student at UC, he co-founded Latinos en Accion (LEA) in 1992 to give UC's 200 Latino students a home within the 34,000 student body. He also founded Hispanic Engineers on campus and devoted long hours to the Emerging Ethnic Engineers Program. The scholarship continues his efforts, contributing to a diverse campus, where there are 371 Latinos enrolled, up from 244 in 1996 and 176 in 1990. Even after he graduated in 1994, Rennella was always on hand for Hispanic visitation days, said Karen Ramos, assistant director of admissions. "Rafael would come back to campus to talk to visiting high school students...He was so enthusiastic about education, about the co-op program here. He wanted more Hispanics coming to campus, working in the city, improving their own lives and the life of the city," she said. It's one of the reasons a former colleague suggested a scholarship fund to remember Rennella and began working toward that goal on the day Rennella died. UC students, staff, alumni and members of the local community threw themselves into the effort. Dances were held every year, with the proceeds benefitting the scholarship fund. Colleagues who worked with Rennella at Procter & Gamble did likewise as did family and friends, including first-time recipient Teran, a 1997 graduate of Walnut Hills High School. "I came to UC, in part, because I knew there were Latinos here and organizations for them. I got involved immediately in Latinos en Accion. I was secretary for two years and vice president last year. I helped plan dances for the scholarship. We wanted to teach the campus and community about Hispanic culture...We held salsa and meringue dance classes, sent food and clothing to Venezuela after the earthquake, and we sent similar aid to Central America after Hurricane Mitch. We're showing that Cincinnati does have a Hispanic presence," recalled Teran. Teran plans to continue her service to the community after her final year here at UC where she is majoring in anthropology and minoring in French. She plans to attend graduate school and then pursue a career in international development, perhaps one day working for the United Nations. Efforts to build up the Rafael Rennella Scholarship won't end now that the endowment fund can support an annual scholarship. Fundraising events will continue as a means for helping even more students who are dedicated to serving UC's Latino community. (Candidates for the scholarship need not be Hispanic. The scholarship is open to any UC student who works in support of the university's Latino community.) "My hopes for the future of the scholarship is that it will build with everyone's support and be able to help more and more people," said Sebastian Rennella, Rafael's brother. "Rafael was always one to lend a hand to others, and this is one of the things that I would like him to be remembered for. There are so many people that can change the world for the better if only given...opportunity...." Anyone wishing to make a contribution can send it to the Rafael Rennella Scholarship Fund, University of Cincinnati Foundation, 51 Goodman Drive, 100 University Hall, P.O. Box 19970, Cincinnati OH 45219-0970; or call 513-556-1098 for more information.