LOS ANGELES — You can often find Ovi Vazquez delivering motivational speeches to youth, aiming to inspire and guide them toward their educational aspirations. 

Ovi was born and raised in a small village in Guatemala, worked in the fields from age 8, later immigrating to the U.S. as a teen.

When Ovi came to the U.S., he applied for DACA and started attending school. He later received his citizenship. Fueled by limited resources, he’s now dedicated to providing educational access for students with similar backgrounds.

He developed a scholarship app aimed at easing the financial challenges that Black and Brown students might encounter when pursuing higher education.