Juan Carlos Vazquez (JC), is the Program Coordinator for the Technical Assistance Division with the Center for Persons with Disabilities (CPD). He is recognized for his efforts in the development of programs to encourage high school students of ethnic minority backgrounds to come to Utah State University.

Mr. Vazquez has developed and facilitated programs to support multicultural students through the application, admission and transition process at USU. He also oversees scholarships, housing waivers and has helped to create workstudy opportunities for multicultural students. Mr. Vazquez served as the advisor of the Utah State University Hispanic Student Union promoting Latino culture with events on and off campus. He provided academic advising to traditional and non-traditional students. He promoted higher education through Cache Valleys K-12 parent associations, multicultural clubs and organizations.

Mr. Vazquez helped to develop training working with the State Education Departments, school districts, charter schools, and organizations entitled Diversity and Cultural Awareness. He developed and implemented programs such as the Multicultural Parents Association, peer tutoring and peer mentoring which established a connection between local school districts and the university.

Mr. Vazquez works with the State Education Agencies to improve results for children with disabilities in special education. He is a member of six professional organizations and serves on the Advisory Board of two of them. The Governor's .Executive Council for Hispanic/Latino Affairs in the State of Utah is one of the organizations of which he is a member. In this capacity he meets with the Governor quarterly to report and discuss issues which impact the Latino/Hispanic people in areas of education, health, employment and immigration.

Because of his leadership and success in helping multicultural students at USU, Juan Carlos Vazquez is awarded the USU Diversity Award in the Staff category.