GIVING
THE IMMOKALEE SCHOLARSHIP:
Gabriela Luviano’s Unexpected Opportunities at Ave Maria
a v e m a r i a m a g a z i n e | F a l l 2017
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oday, Ave Maria is a thriving, authentically Catholic University on a beautiful campus in southwest Florida with 33 majors and approximately 1,100 students.The University has seen transformational growth from its early days on a temporary campus in Naples, when the pioneering members of its students, faculty and staff embraced Tom Monaghan’s vision to build a great Catholic University. Gabriela Luviano, who began as a student in 2004 and now works for the University, is one of those pioneers. Gabriela Luviano, originally from Guanajuato, Mexico, moved to America with her family when she was three years old. The Luviano family eventually settled in Immokalee, Florida, a neighboring town to Ave Maria. Gabriela and her two younger sisters attended Immokalee High School. Her goal was to become the first in her family to attend a University and receive a college degree. She was an excellent student during her high school years, but worried how she could afford college until something happened that many Ave students have experienced. “Ave chose me,” she said, smiling at the commonly heard, but accurate, saying. Contrary to her every expectation, Gabriela found out a month before she graduated from high school that she had been accepted to Ave Maria with a full scholarship. She was chosen as a recipient of The Immokalee Scholarship along with six high school classmates. The scholarship
was created by the Naples Founders Club to enable students from Immokalee to attend this new, local University. She enrolled in the fall of 2004 as the University moved into a temporary campus in Naples. At first, she struggled with the rigorous Catholic liberal arts education, but soon thrived because of the inspiring teaching of professors like Dr. Travis Curtright, Dr. Barry David and Dr. Gabriel Martinez. In the fall of 2007, Gabriela’s senior year, the first classes were held on the permanent campus in Ave Maria, Florida. In the spring of 2008, Gabriela was a member of the first class to graduate from Ave’s new campus. She received her bachelor’s degree in Economics and a minor in Philosophy. With all the excitement and expectation of a new graduate, Gabriela went out into the world to see how she could serve. The recession of 2008 presented an exceptionally difficult job market, however, and Gabriela had a challenging time finding a stable job within her field. While seeking a position in her industry, she was fortunate to be able to work at The Secret Ingredient, a boutique women’s clothing store in Ave Maria’s town center for two years. In 2010, she began working in logistics for Freight Forward, a shipping company providing services for Fortune 500 Companies. She excelled in the company and soon secured a transfer to a position in Rotterdam, Netherlands. This allowed
her the opportunity to travel in Europe frequently. All was well, until God saw fit to present her with another obstacle. In 2016, while visiting Medjugorje for an Ave Maria alumni wedding, Gabriela discovered that her employer, Freight Forward, was going under. Soon after, she started to look for new employment. Guided by Our Lady of Medjugorje, she had an instinct to go to Ave Maria University’s website and look for a job. She applied and shortly after, was hired by her Alma Mater to work in the Office of Advancement as a Research Analyst. Gabriela celebrated her one-year anniversary as an employee for Ave Maria University in September, and loves the work she is doing. “It is my chance to give back to the school that gave me so much as an Immokalee Scholar,” she says. Fueled by gratitude, Gabriela is working hard to give as many students today the opportunities she had as an Ave undergraduate.