Our future is tied to this generation of youth. If you are the parent, grandparent, teacher, mentor or friend of a Hispanic college student looking to a future in a science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) field please encourage them to visit alliancescholars.org. Yesterday the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (the Alliance) announced the opening of the Alliance/Merck Ciencia (Science) Hispanic Scholars Program. We are making two types of awards:
- High School Seniors -- $42,500 Scholar Package. Promising Hispanic high school students from Brownsville, TX; Elizabeth, NJ; and Los Angeles, CA are invited to apply to become one of ten Alliance/Merck Ciencia Scholars that will be selected in the Spring of 2009. Scholars will receive up to $20,000 in scholarship (up to $5,000 each of four years of college) and up to $22,500 in summer internship stipends (up to $7,500 each of three summers). Scholars will also receive mentorship and professional development support to complete a Bachelor's degree in a STEM field and pursue a STEM career.
- College STEM Majors -- $2,000 Scholarship. Hispanic college students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and Puerto Rico pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field major are invited to apply for a $2,000 one-time scholarship of which 25 will be awarded in the Spring of 2009.
This program of the Alliance and the Health Foundation for the Americas (HFA) is being conducted in partnership with the Merck Institute for Science Education (MISE) with support from The Merck Company Foundation.
Just this morning the Census Bureau released new data showing that there are 1.7 million recent Hispanic high school graduates enrolled in college. Innovation in communication, genomics, and earth sciences all hold the prospect for a golden age of discovery....but only if our youth have the educational background to lead such discovery. At the Alliance we are working to help secure that future of hope and prosperity for all.
