HONOR ARY DOC TOR ATE RECIPIENTS
Luz Escamilla Utah State Senator
Senator Luz Escamilla’s deep appreciation for education stems from her parents, who worked hard to provide opportunities for themselves and their children. Both her mother and father attended college in Mexico and earned PhDs in chemical engineering. “Education was always part of our lives,” she says. At an early age, Senator Escamilla realized her path to success depended on going to college. Before her election as Utah’s first Latina and immigrant state senator in 2008, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Utah. Now in her fifth term in the Utah State Senate, Senator Escamilla serves on the Senate leadership team as the Senate Minority Leader and is the chair of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators’ Banking Committee and Affordable Housing and Credit Task Force. She is also the co-chair of Utah’s Women in the Economy Commission. An entrepreneur at heart, Senator Escamilla says when she gets a business idea, she first checks with SLCC to
see what’s available in terms of education to support that idea. She has vast experience as a political consultant and specializes in developing strategic government relations plans for businesses and nonprofits. In past years, she served as director for Utah’s Office of Ethnic Affairs, and as vice president for Zions Bank in the Community Development Group. She has also filled the role of Chief Operations Officer at MiCARE Network, a Utah-based healthcare startup. Currently, Senator Escamilla is a managing partner of ESCATEC Solutions, which helps organizations improve their customer experience and better utilize technology. Senator Escamilla believes that SLCC, an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), plays an essential role in Utah’s economy. “Our emerging communities are providing the highest fertility rates—they are literally our future workforce,” she says. “In the end, when you have individuals get the degree or certificate and get in the workforce where they can fill those positions, we all win. From a fiscal perspective, supporting SLCC students is the right and smart thing to do.”
Salt Lake Community College has been awarding HONORARY DOCTOR OF HUMANE LETTERS degrees to deserving individuals since 1986. The SLCC Board of Trustees selects outstanding individuals in the community who have achieved distinction, made extraordinary contributions to their professional fields and made a meaningful impact in their communities and/or to higher education to receive this honor. 8