Family of murdered Valley teen awards scholarships to students

MESA, Ariz. – Olga Lopez mourns a disciplined, caring and selfless student-athlete. This description also fits two elderly people to whom she awarded scholarships in memory of her son a year after his assassination.

“It’s a legacy with a purpose,” Lopez said.

His son, Jeremiah Aviles, was killed on May 7, 2023, at the home of a teammate.

“What happened to my son does not reflect who my son is,” Lopez said.

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On May 25, 2023, Aviles was supposed to graduate from Red Mountain High School. However, his name was not read at the opening due to district politics at the time.

“We went home that day with heavy hearts and broken spirits,” Lopez said. “And my son looked at me – we were on the couch, you know, his eyes were swollen and he looked at me and he said. 'You know, so when are we going to open Jeremiah's clothing store?' , And I just looked up at him and said, 'Well, tell me.' And he said, 'Today.'”

This clothing store, Juice Studios, named after Aviles' nickname on the football field, funds the Jeremiah Aviles Scholarship through the foundation Lopez founded: the Jeremiah Aviles Foundation.

This year, the scholarship was available to student-athletes from Red Mountain and St. Paul high schools in California, where Jeremiah attended his first two years.

“This is a senior athlete from either school who has strong character, who gives back to others, demonstrates the qualities of character and work ethic that Jeremiah has,” Lopez said.

Each of the recipients receives a $4,000 scholarship and a year of life coaching.

The first scholarship, awarded a year before Aviles would have graduated, went to Red Mountain senior Payton Maguire, who will play softball next year at an out-of-state college. The other scholarship went to a senior at St. Paul High School.

Lopez said it was Maguire's work with Unified PE, which serves special education students, that made her think of her son.

“I chose it because I like to give back to my community. I like to do things that only benefit myself,” Maguire said.

This fall, Maguire announced she would begin her degree in business, which Aviles was set to pursue at Arizona State University.

“I was really, really grateful,” Maguire said after receiving the scholarship. “I think this is a great opportunity and I hope I can live up to Jeremiah’s name and continue to honor him through this scholarship.”

Lopez hopes to double the award amount next year to continue Aviles' legacy.

“Knowing that they will remember Jeremiah forever,” Lopez said. “Because like he says, ‘I got you,’ he got them.”