‘Dream Project’ CEO briefs Kiwanians on organization’s support for students

More than 100 local students will be receiving scholarships through efforts of the local Dream Project this spring, the organization’s leader told South Arlington Kiwanians on March 18.

The students, some U.S. citizens and others immigrants, will attend a variety of in-state institutions of higher education, including George Mason University, Marymount University, Northern Virginia Community College, Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia.

Some will use their $4,500 stipends to support out-of-state educational opportunities, while the organization also provides scholarship funds for students taking coursework focused on career and technical certification.

Zuraya Tapia-Hadley, CEO of the Dream Project, detailed the impact of those scholarship funds to Kiwanis Club members.

Despite challenges facing immigrant communities, “you wouldn’t believe how resilient they are,” Tapia-Hadley said.

Local immigrant youth is “energized and committed and moving ahead.”

The Dream Project was founded in 2010 to provide scholarships and mentoring to students across the local region, many of whom were undocumented. In the past 15 years, its services have expanded to provide an increasing variety of services to youth who are either immigrants themselves, or come from immigrant families.

About one-third of students in Arlington’s public schools come from immigrant families.

In part because of her work founding and supporting the Dream Project, former Arlington School Board member Emma Violand-Sánchez was presented with the Kiwanis Club’s Harro & Janie Wulf Legendary Service Award in 2025.

In her remarks at the March Kiwanis meeting, Tapia-Hadley said one of her goals as the organization’s relatively new CEO is to bring services to youth earlier in their high-school careers.

“We’re still working to make sure all families know about this coaching and mentorship,” she said.

Through the outreach efforts, “we really get to know students on a very personal basis,” Tapia-Hadley said.

Born in Mexico City, Tapia-Hadley grew up in the Washington area, then returned to Mexico for college before coming back to the local area. She chose Arlington because of its good schools.

In 2024, Tapia-Hadley was elected to the Arlington School Board, running in part to address perceived inequities in local educational opportunity.

“I saw a lot of gaps,” she said. “Families that need the most support often have the least resources.”

For many years, Tapia-Hadley served on the board of the Shirlington Employment and Education Center, where Kiwanis president Andres Tobar serves as executive director.

SEEC, as the organization is known, has long collaborated with the Dream Project on initiatives.

“It’s a beautiful partnership. We work wonderfully together,” Tobar said.

At the meeting, club director John Murphy said Arlington supported efforts to provide mentoring and financial backing to Arlington immigrant youth headed to higher education.

“We have a loving, caring community,” he said.