Three years ago, when then-UF senior Massiel Cobblah got an email from the Gators Unidos Board of Directors congratulating her on being awarded a scholarship, she said she felt her financial burden lifted, and a new opportunity for community opened up.
The Gators Unidos Scholarship is a private fund awarding scholarships to Latin UF students like Cobblah, as well as establishing mentorships with Latin UF alumni and offering professional development resources.
At a time when many publicly funded scholarships for Latino students have been cut following crackdowns on diversity initiatives at the state and federal level, private scholarships like Gators Unidos signify a remaining avenue of support, Cobblah said.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today if I wouldn’t have received a lot of this funding just to be able to go to school … especially if you don’t have that … support from your parents, not because they don’t want to, but because they financially can’t,” she said.
Last year, the Florida Board of Governors cut the Latin American and Caribbean Scholarship, which offered in-state tuition rates for international UF students from 50 countries. The state’s education budget also decreased by 1.3%, which impacted higher education funding throughout Florida.
Cobblah was born in Cuba to a Cuban mother and Ghanaian father. She was raised in Cape Verde before moving to Miami when she was 10. She applied for the Gators Unidos Scholarship her junior year after seeing it advertised by a former recipient online.
She worked throughout her undergraduate years at UF, and the scholarship relieved her of costs associated with housing and books for classes, which she otherwise would’ve paid for herself, she said.
“I feel like over time, I just keep getting more and more from it,” she said. “A community that continuously supports me.”
Maria Aliaga, a 2025 Gators Unidos Scholarship recipient and 21-year-old UF finance senior, was born in Lima, Peru, before moving to Weston, Florida, for educational opportunities at 9 years old.
She said she wants to use her passion for finance and solving problems as an analyst to help people. This summer, she’ll be working as a financial management analyst intern for Bank of America, an opportunity she earned partly from the scholarship.
When she found out she would be connected with a Hispanic alumna in her field, Aliaga hoped to get job opportunities and professional mentorship — she had switched her major to finance at the end of her sophomore year and wanted guidance. Her mentor, a bank analyst, has helped her develop her resume, cover letters and elevator pitches for job fairs, and they talk monthly about a career in finance.
“She prepared me for everything, and I’m just so thankful for the scholarship program because she went through exactly what I’m going through right now,” Aliaga said.
Gators Unidos makes Latin students at UF feel seen and welcome, she said.
“It’s really important to know that we are seen and there’s people that know what we’re going through,” Aliaga said. “It reassures all Latinos that we have such a bright future ahead, and people are willing to invest in that.”
Her experience, she said, has inspired her to pay it forward to someone else, whether that be as a mentor for Gator Unidos after graduation or to others who went through the same path she did.
“She [my mentor] has given me such great help that I will forever carry with me,” Aliaga said. “I’d love to carry that through, and I’d love to pass that knowledge to somebody else.”
Dayana Falcon, UF class of 2011, was inspired to create Gator Unidos during the COVID-19 pandemic. She stayed involved in the university, sitting on the council of the UF Foundation’s National Board and the advisory council for UF’s College of Journalism and Communications.
She noticed that while there were some scholarships, none had a professional development aspect to them. People were just writing checks, she said. She wanted to innovate the model and bridge the gap between alumni and students.
“I always still had a foot in the door to UF because I believe in paying it forward and giving back,” Falcon said. “When COVID hit … there was so much happening in the world that I wanted to be a part of the solution.”
In the sixth year of awarding scholarships, Falcon said she sees interconnectedness and support between all Latino Gators involved in the program. The recipients have found community, and they’ve used the funds for graduate school, internships and opportunities within their career paths.
“It feels like you’re a part of something bigger than yourself, and we’re a community,” she said.
Gators Unidos is currently filming a documentary with a student-run production, capturing stories of the scholarship recipients, impactful moments and what community means to the program members. It will represent not just Gator Nation, but the Latino community, Falcon said.
“What I think Gators Unidos means — united,” she said. “Just encouraging community for all backgrounds across the board. I think humanity needs it more than ever.”
Contact Angelique Rodriguez at arodriguez@alligator.org. Follow her on X @angeliquesrod.
Angelique is a first-year journalism major and the Fall 2025 graduate school reporter. In her free time, she'll probably be reading, writing, hanging out with her friends or looking through the newest fashion runway shows on Vogue.
