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Renato Puga Memorial Scholarship Ceremony

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On Monday night, we celebrated the first two recipients of the The Renato Puga Garcia Memorial Scholarship, Elizabeth Lee and Maribel Garcia Ochoa, and remembered our dear friend and colleague Renato. We ate delicious enchiladas and heard from Professor Hurley, Professor Haney Lopez, and an alumni who knew Renato, Pedro Viramontes. We laughed and cried over our memories of our dear friend, but we also celebrated the accomplishments of the two recipients and their past, present, and future contributions to the Latinx communities. 

The scholarship was started in late 2017 by La Raza Law Students Association and La Raza Law Journal at Berkeley Law in honor of our friend Renato, who was an active member of both organizations. Renato was born In Morelia, Mexico and received his Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Butler University. During law school, he was also captain of the Boalt Hall Soccer Club and a summer associate for Cooley, LLP in San Diego. Renato was an exceptional student but most importantly he was deeply committed to the Latinx community. Through this scholarship, we hope to continue Renato’s legacy and commitment to the Latinx community, but we also aim to provide support to Latinx students and ensure their success in law school. 

If you would like to help contribute to the scholarship, you can venom donations @RenatoPG_Scholarship

Any contributions will be greatly appreciated. 

Native Land Acknowledgement


We take a moment to recognize that Berkeley sits on the territory of xučyun (Huichin) (Hoo-Choon), the ancestral and unceded land of the Chochenyo (Cho-Chen-yo) speaking Ohlone people, the successors of the historic and sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County. This land was and continues to be of great importance to the Muwekma (Muh-wek-muh) Ohlone Tribe and other familial descendants of the Verona Band.

We recognize that every member of the Berkeley community has benefited, and continues to benefit, from the use and occupation of this land since the institution's founding in 1868. Consistent with our values of community and diversity, we have a responsibility to acknowledge and make visible the university's relationship to Native peoples. By offering this Land Acknowledgement, we affirm Indigenous sovereignty and will work to hold the University of California, Berkeley more accountable to the needs of American Indian and Indigenous peoples.