Horizonte announced a new scholarship in memory of Ara Gutierrez Sanchez and presented the first award to Speratha Niazidez during the school’s 2025 commencement ceremony.

School counselor Eleanor Chase said the Horizonte community established the Ara Gutierrez Sanchez scholarship to continue the late staff member’s work supporting students who demonstrate commitment and growth.

Chase told graduates the scholarship is intended to provide additional opportunities to students who have “shown up despite the struggles they may carry,” and the school publicly thanked multiple foundations, businesses and individual donors for supporting student aid. Donors named at the ceremony included the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, Mariner S. Eccles Foundation, Archer Family Foundation, Beasley Family Foundation, Medallion Bank, Rotary Club of Salt Lake City and several individual benefactors.

Yoretsi Gutierrez, identified at the ceremony as the daughter of Ara Gutierrez Sanchez, spoke about her mother’s connection to Horizonte. “My mom was a part of Horizonte in more ways than one,” Gutierrez said, describing her mother’s years as a student and later a staff member and saying the family was honored the school had chosen to memorialize her work.

Chase and other staff presented this year’s Aura/Ara Gutierrez scholarship to Speratha Niazidez; the recipient was recognized from the stage and congratulated by attendees.

School leaders described the scholarships given at the ceremony as “thousands of dollars” collectively but did not state award amounts for the new scholarship or individual recipients. The principal and counselor acknowledged that donor support is a key source of those awards; the precise funding mix for the new Ara Gutierrez Sanchez scholarship and the specific award amount to the recipient were not specified at the ceremony.

The scholarship announcement followed a segment in which school counselors recognized multiple donors and invited scholarship recipients to stand for recognition. The school said the new award will be offered in future years to students who meet the scholarship criteria.

Horizonte staff and family members asked audience members to celebrate recipients and to continue supporting scholarship programs that the school said help graduating students pursue college and job training opportunities.