195 Puerto Rican college students get $191K in scholarships
With the goal of providing supplementary assistance to university students who show financial need, the Puerto Rico Community Foundation and the Hispanic Federation announced the granting of 195 scholarships from the Hispanic Federation Puerto Rico Recovery and Relief Fund to students from 57 towns on the island.
The scholarship recipients are enrolled in a diversity of majors at universities or local educational institutions, and received between $500 and $1,500 for 2020, which means an investment of $191,000 in “Puerto Rico’s human capital,” the nonprofits said.
This is the third round of scholarships from the Hispanic Federation Puerto Rico Recovery and Relief Fund, established at the end of 2017 by the Hispanic Federation at the Foundation, in response to the aftermath of Hurricane María.
Since then, the fund has awarded $475,000 in scholarships to 514 students, the nonprofits confirmed.
“Hispanic Federation has contributed to several local causes through nonprofit organizations to contribute to the recovery of the island,” said Hispanic Federation CEO Frankie Miranda. “Among these, access to education has been one of our priorities because we recognize how vulnerable students are in this period of their lives.”
“We don’t want anything to derail them from their academic goals, that’s why we’ve been present through this fund, to help and encourage them to move forward,” he said. “We thank the Puerto Rico Community Foundation for once again collaborating in this effort.”
A total of 211 students applied for the scholarship for the 2019-2020 period and participated in a selection process that considered their needs for financial support and academic progress, among other eligibility criteria.
The Hispanic Federation fund “has demonstrated the relevance and usefulness of this philanthropic mechanism for transformation processes that seek equitable access to community resources,” said Foundation President Nelson I. Colón-Tarrats.
“What started as a one-year call was extended to three. The Hispanic Federation fund has represented a light of hope for hundreds of Puerto Rican students who want to continue their university studies, despite having been through hurricanes, earthquakes and, now, the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Colón Tarrats.
“We’re very grateful for the Hispanic Federation’s commitment to Puerto Rico, as well as its vision and philanthropic contribution to the human capital of our island,” he added.
The 195 students that received scholarships are enrolled in 17 universities throughout the island. Their areas of study include: Business administration; aviation; animation; bioengineering; biology; biotechnology; agricultural science; environmental science; biomedical science; computer science; forensic science; communications; counseling; accounting; and law, among others.
