2 El Paso Students Win Great Khalid Foundation Arts Scholarships

Congratulations to two local high school seniors, recipients of The Great Khalid Foundation $10K Performing Arts Scholarships.

Last week, The Great Khalid Foundation, along with Mattress Firm, surprised two local high school seniors and their families by presenting each with a $10K check towards their respective performing arts college education.

Both students had no idea how their future academic lives would change after finding out that they had won The Great Khalid Foundation's Performing Arts Scholarships.

From a pool of national submissions, Ariah Labrado of Eastlake High School and Raul Romero of Pebble Hills High School were recognized for their pursuit of higher education, academic achievements, and artistic ability.

Each student was ever so grateful, Romero mentioned how this money was a God-sent, and Labrado shared how blessed she felt to have received such a great honor.

Executive Director Linda Wolfe of The Great Khalid Foundation also pointed out that this was the first time two singers were selected as recipients of its performing arts scholarships. Wolfe, who herself is a singer, expressed how impressed she was by both student’s video submissions.

Ariah Labrado submitted a video performance of Claude Debussy, Romance sung in French, while Raul Romero sang Dolente Immagine Di Fille Mia by Vincenzo Bellini in Italian.

Just as a reference, check out Claude Debussy, Romance below:

And this is Pavarotti covering Bellini's Dolente Immagine Di Fille Mia:

Ariah Labrado plans to attend UTEP later in the fall, while Raul Romero plans to pursue a music education degree at Texas State University.

Since 2019, The Great Khalid Foundation has advanced music education opportunities for local students and encouraging them to thrive academically.

Over the last few years, The Great Khalid Foundation has awarded $60,000 in scholarships to local students, distributed over 800 backpacks filled with school supplies, donated $500,000 to the victims of the August 3 shooting, and so much more, including passing out a complete Thanksgiving meal to 1,000 El Paso families in 2020.

Listen to Monika middays all week on 93.1 KISS-FM and download our free 93.1 KISS-FM App.