(Pictured L-R) Consul Jose Antonio Larios; UIW President
Dr. Louis J. Agnese, Jr.; and UIW Vice President of International Affairs Marcos Fragoso.
At a press conference held in February, 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 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 nationally 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 U.S. $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. In 2014-2015, 44 Mexican consulates participated in this program in the U.S.
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 schools around Central and South Texas and do not possess 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 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 regarding the scholarship opportunity, contact UIW’s International Admissions Office at [email protected] or (210) 805-5707, or Estela Gutierrez, Mexican consulate, (210) 227-1089, [email protected].
