Today I am currently at New York University to talk about the new Hispanic Scholarship Fund. The Hispanic Scholarship was announced for high school Juniors and Seniors who are Hispanic to help them prepare for college expenses and to navigate them through the process of financial aid aid and the common app application. I recently spoke with Julis Petahreinoso, and Jason Acosta because I wanted to learn more as a high school student what colleges expect from us students that want an upbringing in the future.
Julis Petahreinoso is currently a high school Junior at The Young Womens Leadership School of the Bronx and I asked her a few based questions.
What interests you today about the Hispanic scholarship?
Ms. Petahreinoso replied, “ What interests me is that like there is a lot of scholarships that are offered to white people like a lot of colleges see a lot of white people and is just, I feel like is really amazing to see that there is scholarships being offered for poc specifically because that’s not something that we get a lot and a lot of us come from low-income communities. So, that’s definitely something that’s helpful towards us.”
Are you interested in NYU for academics in general or what other colleges interest you?
“ I am not interested in nyu, but I am interested in Columbia, MIT, Fordham, St. Francis.”
Why did you choose to attend this trip to the Hispanic scholarship and what caught your attention?
“ I chose to attend this trip, because I felt like I haven’t been given enough information like at my school is not something that is talked about as much until our senior year and I rather be prepared early than later and than be able to ask my questions now instead of being confused in my senior year and stressing myself out. What caught my attention was mainly the fact that is for Hispanic students.”
Fast Forward to Jason Acosta who is the president of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
How are you feeling today?
“ I am feeling great! I am really happy that people showed out even though there was a storm watch and it seemed to keep people away. But, I am thrilled that it seems that it cant keep New Yorkers away I guess. This is awesome!”
What is your interests or position in Nyu?
(Executive and Vice President Strategic Partnership Hispanic Scholarship Fund)
“Were partnering with Nyu to bring together this program that helps students and parents prepare plan to pay for college, were serving middle school students, high school students as well as parents, and were just looking to provide information about financial aid and the application process.”
How did the Hispanic Scholarship Fund develop over time?
“ Yeah, so the Hispanic scholarship was funded in 1975 the founders were actually took out a loan on they’re home and started to operate out of the garage and it became what it is today. Which now has more than 25,000 thousand active scholars enrolled in more than 12 hundred institutions across the country. We’ve now distributed more than 7 hundred million dollars in scholarships we have more than 65,000 thousand alumni and so we are now a very large organization and we do not only provide our scholarships, but severance the administrator of many scholarships including the Gates scholarship. So, were very privileged and proud to be able to be an organization that is not only providing those kind of services, but also support services beyond scholarships in a variety of ways to our scholars.”
What inspire you to advocate for Nyu?
“Yeah, so Nyu has been a terrific partner since 2016 regarding the college camp. But, we have many scholars here at nyu the population being here in New York City and the students that we conserve the potential of bringing out resources to many students and parents as possible is what brought us to a major city like New York City.”
What happens if there’s international students who wants to receive a scholarship in not only in sports, but academics?
“ Yeah, when anything becomes natural I encourage open dialogue no matter where they want to go talk to that institution, talk to that coach and to the admissions office there are regional. Counselors that typically work with specific populations and specific markets and what I can say is that international students are absolutely a cohort that universities are incredibly interested in, but there is a unique process and a different process and reaching out directly to the institution is what I would advise.”
What advice would you give to students that is in need of a scholarship for those who want to attend an Ivy League school or safety college?
“ Absolutely! I would advise to cast a wide net to be proud of your accomplishments and to be thorough in who you are as a person and to do your research right, whether it is the major that your interested in to seek that support and to keep yourself organized. There’s many different deadlines many different organizations doing a lot of different initiatives and great work; and so take advantage, take the time and it’s and investment in yourself. The more gift aid you can give yourself through scholarships and other resources the better.”
