Fiesta Mexicana and the Wisconsin Hispanic Scholarship Foundation have been able to award more than $565,000 in academic scholarships and more than $250,000 to local and surrounding non-profit organizations over the years. These scholarships have allowed aspiring Hispanic students to live their dreams of furthering their education. This year five students from all MATC campuses received these scholarships. All winners are required to work 20 hours. Paulina Martinez is one of the MATC students who has benefited from the Wisconsin Hispanic Scholarship Foundation. Majoring in graphic design, she volunteered at Fiesta Mexicana by designing the logo, brochure and all publicity ads for the festival. Paulina was so grateful that she decided to volunteer for the whole summer on a full-time basis. Her advice to those who quit school because they don’t have money for tuition and books: “You don’t need money, you just need to be a good student and to have the courage to do whatever it takes to achieve your dreams.” She adds, “One way to accomplish this is by finding where to apply for scholarship money and be willing to volunteer. You get a lot of experience and have the opportunity to meet a lot of wonderful people.”
Evelyn Delgado is another MATC student in the Administrative Assistant program who received the scholarship. She is very proud to wear her MATC T-shirt and talked about how she obtained her scholarship. She said she had to write two essays about how she sees her future and how she plans to help and give back to her community. Her plans are to find a job in the medical field and be able to help the needy.
Estela Vazquez, who is the Administrative Assistant for the foundation, says, “All you have to do is get your application in by February and complete and return it by the March 31st deadline.” To be eligible you need to be a Wisconsin resident, at least 25% Hispanic, have been accepted to a college in Wisconsin and provide copies of your transcripts. There is no age limit and the better grades you have the better scholarship you can get.
