Iris E. Soto 8/8/49-4/5/09
Iris came to Connecticut from Puerto Rico to give her children a better life. Iris had a 5th grade education but if you spoke to her you would never know. She was intelligent and knowledgable in all aspects of life and valued an education.
Iris was a kind, nurturing, and loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She always put everyone first, especially her children and grandchildren. She did everything she could so her children could have everything they ever needed.
Living in a low-income housing project in Willimantic that was known for violence and drugs, Iris did everything in her power to keep her children away from drugs, alcohol and violence.
Iris was rearended from behind by a drunk driver on her way home. Her life came to a sad and short end on April 5, 2009, she was just 59 years old...
However, her memories, her love, her beautiful smile and those that she touched and positively affected, will live on forever. She will always be missed but never forgotten...
The recipient of the Iris Soto Memorial Scholarship is a student that may or may not be at the top of their class but will always shine with their heart and caring for others.
At CT Spartans Elite Basketball, we want to help our athletes achieve the dream of getting a college education. We want them to start thinking about college at an early age and try to help them make this dream a reality because the reality of a full basketball scholarship is very slim.
That’s why we've created the Iris Soto Memorial College Scholarship. We will give 1 athlete from every one of our Spartans teams a CHET gift card between $50-$250 depending on their age and grade.
Grades 4-8 get $50, grades 9-11 get $100 and 12th grade seniors get $250. The only thing our Spartan athletes have to do is submit their report card along with an essay, no longer than 250 words, answering the following question. “How has basketball impacted your life?”