Hispanic Development Fund staffers were awarding area students scholarship dollars late Friday. Twenty-eight Bishop Ward High School students and their families were thrilled that they were selected and now can go on to college knowing that some of their costs will be covered by the scholarship.
“These students have worked very hard on their applications, and I’m always so excited to see their faces when they find out,” Melissa Gonzalez said. “It’s important to surprise the students because we don’t always celebrate the hard work they do.”
HDF’s Alex Perez Rico and Bishop Ward President Jay Dunlap agree, “We are so blessed to have a terrific relationship with the Hispanic Development Fund… “It’s grown and meant great things for our students and our community.”
BY JOE ARCE AND COREY CRABLE
Students at high schools throughout the area ended a recent school day with a big surprise: they had been awarded a college scholarship from the Hispanic Development Fund (HDF).
HDF volunteers, school officials and family members surprised the students – a record 550 of them – with the announcement that the scholarship they received can be used at one of the colleges or universities with which HDF partners. Some more good news: The total amount for 2023-24 of $1.17 million raised was a record for HDF, too.
“It’s a record amount,” said Alejandra Perez Rico, director of HDF’s scholarship program. “I thought, ‘Is this a mistake?’ It surpassed our dream amount of $1 million. It didn’t seem realistic.”
But that dream came true, thanks to school fundraisers and generous donors, especially those who showed up each fall for the organization’s biggest annual fundraiser, Cambio Para Cambio, which continues to shatter dollar records of funds raised every fall for college-bound high schoolers.
Perez Rico said that since the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, she has seen the number of scholarship applicants rise sharply, making college a possibility for those who might not have otherwise given it consideration.
“A lot of our students have to step up and take jobs to help their family, so higher education can be put on the back burner. But we’re starting to see it shift,” Perez Rico noted. “This doesn’t happen without the support of their families. They know the value of education it’s just access. We are here to show them that they are not alone and show them it is possible.”
The school with the highest number of scholarships awarded this year was Bishop Ward, with 28. Last year, Bishop Ward students nabbed 17 of those scholarships, according to Melissa Gonzalez, family college prep adviser for HDF.
“These students have worked very hard on their applications, and I’m always so excited to see their faces when they find out,” Gonzalez said. “It’s important to surprise the students because we don’t always celebrate the hard work they do.”
Perez Rico said that in recent years, colleges have put more time and resources into recruiting students of color, especially Hispanic students.
“All of our colleges are wanting to recruit our Hispanic community, so this is a great opportunity to capitalize on the fact that everyone wants to tap into the Latino community,” she said. “But they have to offer a good financial incentive to make it possible.”
That can be especially difficult these days, with regular tuition increases at many colleges across the country. However, Perez Rico said the colleges with whom HDF partners always work hard to attract students for whom college has always been a dream.
“The majority of our scholars go to a matching institution, which means the college will match their scholarship dollar for dollar,” she explains. “That can be the difference between taking a class or not taking it. It’s about hope, showing them that we are here for you every step of the way.”
Bishop Ward President Jay Dunlap welcomed HDF representatives to campus, along with the scholarship recipients and their family members.
“We are so blessed to have a terrific relationship with the Hispanic Development Fund,” Dunlap said. “It’s grown and meant great things for our students and our community.”
Students and their parents were elated to hear the good news.
“I’m so proud of her,” one mother said of her daughter. “This alleviates the (financial burden) on my husband and I. We are seeing her accomplishments being acknowledged by the Latino community.” And Sergio Valenzuela told Hispanic News after learning his son Brandon Valenzuela was among the 28 students at Bishop Ward receiving an HDF scholarship, “this is so great for my son and for the other students. My hope is that they take advantage of this wonderful opportunity and study hard so they can be successful in life.”
One student, sophomore Alyssa Jimenez, said she plans to study engineering at Kansas State University. “It means so much to have a community support me. I’ve been struggling, figuring out how I’m going to pay for college, and this means the world to me,” Alyssa said. She thanked her mother, Melissa, for always pushing her to follow her dreams. “My mom works really hard,” Alyssa said. “She just got her doctorate and is encouraging me to take that next step and put my education first. She’s always supported me no matter what.”
Micaela Carter, a senior, said she was shocked when she learned she had received a scholarship. “I thought we were going to talk about transcripts,” Carter said. “It feels really good knowing I have a support system ready to help me achieve my goals in life.”
One member of that support system is Carter’s mother, Nicole Aguilar, who said that as a single mother of four, she didn’t want her youngest daughter to take on student loan debt. She thanked the Hispanic Development Fund for their help. “This is great,” Aguilar said. “It’s nice to see that the HDF supports the Hispanic community and they’re still here and growing.”
Gonzalez, meanwhile, reiterated the HDF’s belief that “every little dollar counts.”
“For some of these students, it might be the first scholarship they applied to, and it’s a long process to apply,” Gonzalez said. “But this will bring down the sticker price of that school they want to attend. … With everything going up, anywhere you can receive some help, it’s great.”
