Writer: Joshua Andino
2 min read September 2022— With increasing accessibility to Latino students a key aspect of the Texas 60×30 plan, Texas A&M University-San Antonio’s new López Scholars will be a model to emulate.
Higher education is widely considered one of the keys towards increased social mobility, expanded job opportunities and an overall more prosperous life. For that reason, Texas announced the 60x30TX, a long-term strategic plan to increase the state’s educated workforce and ensure that 60% of Texans have achieved some form of higher education by 2030. As it stands, only 42% of Texans between the ages of 25 and 34 have an associate’s degree or higher. That number shrinks to only 21% when looking at Latino students, reports thinktank and policy institute Excelencia in Education.
Despite their promise, schools have been grappling with how best to expand access to higher education for a variety of disadvantaged communities such as low-income and Latino students, which is key to ensure that 60×30 goal of 285,000 Latino students secure an associate’s degree or higher by 2030. Expanded scholarship opportunities, financial aid and job placement programs all have seen varying degrees of success, though often these opportunities are awarded to those with the time and resources to prepare for them rather than those who may struggle the most. To that end, the Hector and Gloria López Foundation announced a $2.1 million grant, the second-largest in Texas A&M-San Antonio’s history, to benefit 15 new López Scholars.
The López Foundation, founded by local lawyer and businessman Hector López and wife Gloria, who ran their family business together, is dedicated to helping provide post-secondary educational opportunities for Latino students in Texas, targeting the communities of El Paso, Austin, San Antonio, South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. The Foundation is aiming to help make the Texas 60×30 plan a reality by ensuring that Latino students are not left behind.
Data provided by TAMUSA shows that while the percentage of bachelor’s degrees earned by Latino students has grown from 9% in 2011 to 15% in 2020, more work remains to be done.
The López Scholars are emblematic of that progress, with Sergio Rodriguez, nephew of Hector and Gloria as well as president and CEO of the Foundation stating, “The fact that they are admitted is enough for us.” He then added, “It’s so important that young Latinos see themselves at institutions of higher education and find a network of support that gets them across the stage with a degree that will boost their economic opportunities.”
The 15 López Scholars were chosen at random upon the disbursement of Federal Pell Grants and all other financial support in which the scholars qualified for, and the scholarship covers the full remaining costs of wraparound support services, including mentoring, tutoring, paid internships, leadership development and any other needs for up to five years, according to the A&M–San Antonio press release. The scholarship enables students to fully focus on their studies as opposed to the worry of potential hurdles and high costs, with Rodriguez noting, “We don’t need another barrier in order to provide support.”
It was an emotional announcement, with Dr. Jesse Pisors, vice-president for advancement and external relations, telling Invest, “The López Foundation specifically wanted to remove all barriers to consideration for this amazing, full-ride scholarship. After applying a few criteria, the final selection by the Texas A&M-San Antonio Foundation of the 15 TAMUSA López Scholars was random. Students were not required to fill out an application, submit an essay or take other steps that are customary, especially for extremely generous scholarships like this one. In fact, when we called the 15 selected recipients, many found the news almost too good to be true. When they realized it was, in fact, a scholarship that would eliminate their financial needs and concerns for up to five years so that they could focus 100% on their studies, tears of joy usually followed.”
While the $2.1 million gift was only capable of supporting the single cohort of scholars, Pisors believes the López Foundation has set the example, saying in his statement, “Transformational financial support for the Latino community is necessary to continue and accelerate this trend. As word spreads of this scholarship, we are confident that A&M-San Antonio will attract more attention from students who see themselves here and donors who are inspired to follow the example of the Hector and Gloria López Foundation in providing major financial support for our students.”
The grant is one of two, and the first ever the López Foundation has provided the university, with TAMUSA having been selected for its thorough support and ongoing work to help drive Hispanic and Latino student success, with A&M University-San Antonio President Dr. Teniente-Matson stating, “We are growing this University from the ground up.” She added, “This historic gift to our students and investment in the University’s vision will help us continue our momentum and growth in San Antonio and have a greater impact throughout the region.”
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