DeVry University challenges Latino Youth to speak out on Higher Education.

DeVry University has launched a national essay competition that challenges Latino youth to answer the question, “What is the Value of a Higher Education and How is it Important to the Latino Community?”

DeVry University has teamed with MiGente.com to ask Latino youth about the role education plays in their lives and their community in 750 words or less. The grand prize winner of the competition receives a $10,000 cash prize to use toward their college education. In addition, nine other finalists will each receive a $1,000 cash prize to use toward a college degree program.

According an annual survey by educational trade publication Diverse: Issues in Higher Education of the “Top 100 Degree Producers” of bachelor’s degree graduates who are students of color, DeVry University is the number one producer of Hispanic graduates earning bachelor’s degrees in the field of Computer and Information Science and Support Services in the United States. For this category, DeVry University campuses in California, Illinois, Florida and Texas ranked first, fourth, eighth, and twenty-seventh, respectively, in the June 2007 report.

According to David J. Pauldine, President of DeVry University, “Over 13 percent of our students are Latino, and we know first-hand that they place a high value on obtaining an advanced degree.” Pauldine said that the $10,000 award is an opportunity for a Latino family to defray some of the costs associated with earning a college degree. “Getting contestants focused on the important role education plays in their lives is the first step. The essay contest accomplishes that. Then, the awards made to winners will help remove a barrier to going to college,” Pauldine added.