Georgia Jacquez Lewis

With that contribution, Lewis continued on a familiar path – that of trailblazer.

Growing up as the fourth of six kids on a family farm in northern New Mexico, Lewis was the first in her family to attend college, and returned to school to receive her law degree at age 53.

She also was the first Hispanic to serve on a board of elections in North Carolina, she co-founded the Mecklenburg County Hispanic/Latino Lawyers Bar, and was the only lawyer in the state to belong simultaneously to the Young Lawyers and Senior Lawyers divisions of the state Bar Association.

“That’s just my makeup,” says Lewis, who lives in Charlotte. “That’s just who I am. I just do things.”

So it’s not surprising she was willing to be the first supporter of an effort to provide the same opportunities she’s had to young Latinos.

Hermanas Latina is a giving circle started last year whose members each donate $150 a year that is then pooled and given to the Tomorrow Fund for Hispanic Students, a fund at the Triangle Community Foundation. In its first year, the fund awarded $13,000 to each of three North Carolina colleges, which use the money either to help Hispanic students with school-related expenses, or to improve the college experience for Hispanics.

“I guess I feel like I’m the one who gains from it,” says Lewis of her desire to help...

Read the full article