Hispanic Scholarship Fund Opens Regional Office In NYC.

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) announced today the opening of the HSF Northeast Regional Office. In line with its goal to double the rate of Hispanics earning a college degree to 18 percent by 2010, HSF — headquartered in San Francisco, Calif. — is opening regional offices in cities with high concentrations of Hispanics.

“In its 27-year history, HSF has been strongly committed to continuing its support in the Northeast region through our programs,” said Sara Martinez Tucker, HSF president and chief executive officer. “The regional office in New York allows us to offer parents and students in the region the financial resources and assistance that will help break the cycle of under-education among Hispanic Americans.”

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 15 percent of Hispanics in the U.S. are located in the Northeast. New York City is ranked as the second largest Hispanic market in the country with one out of every four people who live there being Hispanic, totaling just over two million people. To date, HSF has awarded $9.2 million in scholarships to 6,489 students in the Northeast. Of the 57 percent of Hispanics who graduate high school, only 32 percent enroll in college and 11 percent of those students receive their degree, compared to 28 percent of non-Hispanic Whites who complete their degrees.

As a result, HSF will continue to expand its programs and activities to provide Latino students and their families the tools, information and mentoring to make higher education an accessible and affordable reality. The regional office, headed by Dalissa Vargas, will work in collaboration with HSF’s national outreach programs, to change these statistics by hosting town hall meetings, participating in college fairs, informing high school counselors and other educational leaders about HSF initiatives, and serve as a local contact for HSF Scholars in the Northeast region.

Additionally, the office will be responsible for increasing awareness of the importance of Latinos earning a college degree and how HSF’s initiatives are designed to help make graduating from college a reality among the Latino community. The regional office will also work with the local business community and individuals to build ownership at a grassroots level for HSF’s mission.

In addition, the HSF Northeast regional office will open the HSF/Microsoft Community Technology Center in early 2004 to provide access to computers and software in order to best equip the Northeast region’s Hispanic students and families with key information about higher education and financial aid opportunities available to them. The regional office also will provide:

— General information to students and parents about colleges and universities, including how to access tools, such as computers and the Internet, as well as guidebooks of local post-secondary institutions.

— Guidance to assist students with scholarship searches, completing college applications and financial aid forms, internship applications and other educational matters.

— Free educational workshops or town hall meetings to help parents and students learn about college education and financial aid opportunities.

HSF has opened other regional offices in Southern and Central California, the Midwest, the Southeast and Texas. Funding for these regional offices was provided by a $50 million landmark grant by the Lilly Endowment Inc.