Anita Vivanco-Sanchez, the daughter of Edwin and Sandy Vivanco of Sellersburg, Ind., attended Christian Academy of Indiana, where she was as a member of the National Honor Society, the yearbook staff, and the Spanish Club.
Ana cultivated a passion for helping the Hispanic community in the United States, after immigrating to the U.S. as a child. Her experiences inspired her to assist others as they transition to life in a foreign country. At IU Southeast, she is a leader in the Spanish Club and has represented the country of Colombia in the Model UN. She spent summer 2012 sharpening her language skills while studying abroad in Spain. Ana is majoring in international studies, Spanish, and sociology, and she credits IU Southeast’s small class sizes and supportive professors with helping her to succeed.
She is also very active in her surrounding community, volunteering at Kentucky Refugee Ministries, where she teaches English to Cuban immigrants. As a research assistant for the Applied Research and Education Center at IU Southeast, Ana was a bilingual interviewer at Churchill Downs. The information she collected while speaking with Latino immigrants at the Downs will provide valuable clues on how the track improves services for its employees.
Ana hopes to pursue a master’s degree after her graduation from IU Southeast. She has learned that “nothing is impossible.”
Held each year as part of the Chancellor’s Medallion Dinner, the event’s silent auction further acts as a major source of scholarship funding for outstanding Indiana University Southeast students. Featuring a wide range of items from throughout the community and the country, the auction has come to be one of the premier auctions in the region and highlights of the event. Coupled with the proceeds from the evening’s live auction, these auction funds are distributed to outstanding, civic-minded sophomores and juniors across campus through competitive merit-based scholarships.