HOBART — Nearly 300 high school students from Lake and Porter County celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month and heard about the importance of commitment and self-sacrifice during a luncheon hosted by Fort Wayne-based nonprofit organization Latinos Count.

Latinos Count held its Viva College! Scholarship Lunch at the Avalon Manor Banquet Center on Wednesday. The group recognized 16 Region students, each of whom was awarded a $2,000 scholarship.

This is the first year Latinos Count has offered scholarships to Lake and Porter students. The organization has provided monetary awards to students in Northeast Indiana since 2018.

The application process was handled by the Legacy Foundation, a Merrillville-based nonprofit. In total, 40 students in Northwest Indiana applied for the scholarship.

Steve Corona, the executive director of Latinos Count, said the organization seeks to increase the college-going rate of Latino students and help Latino high schoolers with preparing their post-secondary plans.

“For as many Latino students as we have in Lake and Porter counties, there really isn’t an organization focused exclusively on Latino youth and preparing them for that life after high school,” he said.

Corona said the lunch also served as a fundraising event for the nonprofit and as a way for their sponsors to connect with school leaders.

“I think it’s important that we’re here working alongside schools and helping them in making those connections with the community.”

The lunch featured a keynote address from Gian Paul Gonzalez, a former teacher turned inspirational speaker who told the students to go “all in” when it came to living life, the same motto he gave to the players on the New York Giants football team before they won a winning streak that concluded with a Super Bowl victory in 2012.

He encouraged them to be committed to giving their best effort even through difficult times.

“There’s some days being that being ‘all in,’ you’re not going to feel like you’re making much of a difference, you’re not going to see the impact you truly have,” Gonzalez said.

“Being ‘all in’ is not about what happens when we win, anybody can be committed when things go well. In all honesty, ‘all in’ is what you do when you’ve lost.”

In the spirit of the gambling phrase, he provided each attendee a poker chip as a reminder of the “all in” mantra, the same thing he did when he spoke to the Giants players.