Minneapolis-based retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. announced Monday the launch of its 2011 “@15 Scholarship” program, through which up to 1,200 college-bound students from the U.S. mainland and Puerto Rico can benefit from scholarships from the company.
Students in grades 9-12 planning to enter college are eligible for the award program which has already distributed more than $18.5 million in scholarship dollars to more than 14,300 students nationwide.
Best Buy’s @15 Scholarship program, formerly known as the Best Buy Scholarship program, “is an investment in this country’s next generation of leaders – an investment that will pay dividends for all of us,” said Brian J. Dunn, CEO of Best Buy.
“Providing teens with access to higher education is just one of the ways Best Buy helps teens make a difference for themselves and, ultimately, their communities,” he said.
Scholarship winners will be selected based on their outstanding commitment to and involvement in community service or work experience, along with a solid academic performance. Students from public, private, alternative and home school backgrounds as well as to Best Buy employees and their relatives are eligible.
Business reporter with 30 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other segments of Puerto Rico’s economy.
“This project not only represents a significant investment in our island’s tourism infrastructure, but also symbolizes Puerto Rico’s ability to attract and execute large-scale projects.
The Investment Portfolio Program, with a budget of $800 million, plays a crucial role in offering loans with favorable terms for the development of projects that have the potential to transform the Puerto Rican economy.”
— Puerto Rico Housing Secretary William Rodríguez regarding the construction of a $77 million dual-branded hotel project in San Juan’s Convention Center District, featuring Hilton’s Hampton and Homewood Suites.
The project by PRISA Group includes a 400-vehicle parking structure and a 175,000-square-foot hotel tower, financed by Banco Popular and a $10 million federal disaster recovery loan from the Economic Development Investment Portfolio Program managed by the Department of Housing.