Mexican Consulate presents $60,000 check to UIW for student scholarships
San Antonio – At a press conference held today the Mexican Consulate presented a $60,000 check to the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) to fund scholarships for students of Mexican origin as part of the “IME Fellowship Program.”
The Scholarship Program IME-BECAS was created in 2005 as an initiative of the Mexican Government to contribute to the development and personal improvement of Mexican immigrants that live in the United States, in order to help students to continue or finish their academic education.
IME-BECAS offers support to several Community and Learning Centers in the United States for individuals in literacy, elementary, middle school, GED, HiSET, computer courses and ESL. Since 2005, 44,000 students have benefited from this program with an annual grant of over $670,000.
In 2014, President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto quadrupled the initial funding to the program, granting higher educational institutions of the United States $4 million to benefit approximately 12,000 undergraduate students.
The Mexican Government has strategic allies in this effort such as educational institutions, local governments and business enterprises. For 2014-2015, 44 Mexican Consulates will participate in this program in the United States.
Each year, students of Mexican origin apply to UIW with aspirations to become business men and women, engineers, doctors, scientists, etc. Many of these students are graduating from U.S. high school around Central/South Texas and do not have the financial ability to access a private education.
“We are very pleased to be working with the Mexican Consulate on this program,” said Dr. Louis Agnese, UIW president. “The scholarship opportunity will allow minority students to achieve their dreams and contribute back to society in the U.S. and in Mexico."
A limited number of scholarships will be provided to students of Mexican origin as part of the fellowship program. Awards will be given to current students and incoming students for Fall 2015. UIW will match the $60,000 for the 2015 fiscal year that IME-Becas is awarding. Students must have a minimum grade point average of a 3.0 to be eligible for the scholarship.
For more information on the scholarship opportunity, please contact UIW’s International Admissions Office at intladmis@uiwtx.edu or (210) 805-5707 or Estela Gutierrez, Mexican Consulate, (210) 227-1089, egutierrez@consulmexsat.org.
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CONTACT: Estela Gutierrez, Mexican Consulate, (210) 227-1089, egutierrez@consulmexsat.org or Margaret Garcia, UIW associate director public relations, (210) 422-4052, mlgarci2@uiwtx.edu