Texas high school students from Hispanic descent have one more great opportunity for funding their college education. Every year, the Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) awards scholarships to outstanding students.
The Hispanic Heritage Foundation’s Youth Awards is set up to honor outstanding Latino high school seniors and identifies and promotes the next generation of Hispanic role models.
The HHF Youth Awards program, established in 1998, honors high school seniors from Hispanic decent for their excellence in the classroom and their communities.
The program offers awards in a number of categories such as Academic Excellence, Community Service, Business & Entrepreneurship, Technology & Engineering, Healthcare & Science, and Media & Entertainment.
In each of these categories, there are Gold, Silver, and Bronze award winners who will receive a 1-time grant to help fund their education in college or university, or to help fund community service programs that tackle social issues.
Hispanic Heritage Foundation Youth Award Ceremonies
Award winners will be invited to 10 ceremonies across various regions in the U.S. including the Texas cities of Dallas and Houston. They will become part of HHF’s extensive network that supports the leadership roles of Latinos in the classroom and workforce.
The Youth Awards program is meant to prepare Latino youth better as they transition from high school to college and into their professional careers.
Students can file an application for HHF’s Youth Awards online or pick up applications at participating Texas Subway restaurants in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. So let’s check out these educational grants for Hispanic high school students.
Qualification requirements
To qualify for the HHF Scholarship program, high school students must:
- Be enrolled in high school and have an unweighted GPA of at least 3.0
- Enroll in an accredited institution of higher education in the upcoming school year
- Be of Hispanic descent including Brazil, Spain, and the Philippines
- Be U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, or qualify under DACA regulations
- Award winners must attend regional awards ceremonies (travel is at their own expense)
Sponsors
Sponsors of the Youth Awards include MasterCard International and Chase (Academic Excellence), Dr Pepper (Community Service), ExxonMobil (Technology & Engineering), GlaxoSmithKline (Healthcare & Science), Telemundo and NBC Universal (Media & Entertainment), Subway Restaurants (Business & Entrepreneurship), and Southwest Airlines is once again the Official Airline of the Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards.
Gold winners will receive a $3,500 educational grant and a chance to be one of six National Award recipients. Gold recipients additionally receive $5,000 and a laptop computer. They will also be invited to the National Hispanic Heritage Awards celebrations.
“Hispanics make up the largest minority in America, yet we are plagued by alarming statistics about high school completion rates, college attendance, and the types of jobs we are getting,” said HHF CEO and President José Antonio Tijerino.
“It is crucial that we reach out to and recognize young Hispanic leaders and position them as a role model to their peers to demonstrate what can be accomplished through hard work and ganas.” So we make them understand that keeping a good GPA is crucial.
Today, we can see an increasing number of talented Hispanic students enroll in Dual Credit courses while still in high school and this is so great as it will shorten their college education time and lower their financial burden.
To be eligible for an award, applicants must demonstrate interests in all categories they wish to apply for, academic excellence, and their commitment to community service. The candidates must also submit an essay on what influence their Hispanic heritage had on their lives.
HHF uses local committees to select award winners and in ten major cities across America, special major events are coordinated to celebrate the achievements of Youth Award recipients across the regions.
“The Youth Awards program would not be possible without the steadfast support of our committed sponsors,” said Dr. Pedro José (Joe) Greer, Jr., Chairman of HHF.
“They share in our mission of celebrating the success of these inspirational young people and encouraging their excellence and commitment to our communities.
Making a college education a possibility for these kids, who may not otherwise be able to afford one, is both an honor, and a responsibility we all share.” For an overview of the most affordable and most expensive colleges in Texas, check out this page.
Crucial for the development of Hispanic communities
The Youth Awards program is crucial for the development of Hispanic communities in the United States as over 35 percent of Hispanics here are under the age of 18 whereas the median age is 24 years old compared to 34 for America’s general population.
The high school completion rate of Hispanics, however, is just 63 percent compared to just over 81 percent for people of color and 91 percent for white Americans.
“There is nothing more demoralizing for a young Hispanic than to be subjected to false stereotypes about only being capable of low-level jobs,” added Tijerino. “Our Youth Awards program promotes academic achievement, community involvement, and pride in the Hispanic culture not only as vehicles to success but also as keys to reversing destructive stereotypes.
The next step is working with these outstanding young people to put them in a position to lead, and increase Hispanic presence in executive and management roles in the workforce.” To see more scholarship options in Texas, click here.
To that end, HHF created a virtual portal of scholarship opportunities for Hispanic students. In addition, HHF launched the LOFT program (Latinos on Fast Track) with the Hispanic College Fund, which will provide corporate America with top Hispanic talent to bolster their existing internship programs and to help young Hispanics become part of the workforce.
Beyond HHF’s Youth Awards, the organization honors outstanding achievements of Americans from Hispanic descent and uses the Award winners to inspire youth.
For over three decades, the nonprofit organization has honored five outstanding Hispanic students annually who distinguished themselves in the fields of sports, arts, education, science, literature, sports, and leadership.
Past honorees include Ambassador Bill Richardson, Gloria Estefan, Henry Cisneros, Andy Garcia, Celia Cruz, Dr. Antonia Novello, Isabel Allende, Sammy Sosa, Cristina Saralegui, Astronaut Dr. Ellen Ochoa, Ricky Martin, Actor Martin Sheen, and Raul Izaguirre.