Remijio Ontiveros Scholarship

Remijio (Mico) Ontiveros was born October 1, 1910 in Santa Barbara Chihuahua, Mexico. He immigrated to the United States in the early 1900's with his mother, father, and his younger brother. Mr. Ontiveros married Juanita Ybarra on April 2, 1934 and worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad until his retirement. During this time, he received his certificate of Naturalization and became a US Citizen on May 15, 1942.  Mr. Ontiveros became an experienced woodworker and cabinet maker in his later years and would regularly be offered commissions. 

He not only enjoyed woodworking, he enjoyed sharing his craft with his grandchildren. He was never too busy to ‘whip up’ a toy and was more than happy to let the kids take scraps and tools and experiment. He loved sharing his woodworking skills with his grandson on fun projects such as building circus trains and wooden Santas. The SANTA CLAUSE project became a family tradition of wood crafting a Santa each year for the newest members of the extended family. These ‘hands on’ experiences instilled a love of woodworking in his grandson who continues this tradition.

Past Scholarship Recipients

• Jeremy Olivarria, Fall 2023
• Eric Chum, Fall 2023
• Javier Martinez, Spring 2023
• Leonardo Guitierrez, Fall 2022
• William Howard, Spring 2022
• Albert Antaran, Fall 2020
• Vink Ba Lu, Spring 2018

You may make your donation online or by check payable to: Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation
Mail to: GateWay Community College, Development Office, AF 220, 108 N 40th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85034