UMKC and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund will award 198 student scholarships on June 9

A total of 24 schools participate in the matching scholarship program

KANSAS CITY, MO. – The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) is one of the 24 schools that will join the Greater Kansas City Hispanic Scholarship Fund (GKCHSF) in awarding 198 scholarships to students who are entering or continuing their college education. Each school participates in the matching scholarship program. The $256,000 Scholarship Fund is the largest in GKCHSF’s history.

If the student elects to attend one of the 24 schools, that school will match the amount of the student’s scholarship. Thirty-four students have elected to attend UMKC.

The awards will be presented by UMKC administrators at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 9 at the UMKC James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry Street. Richard Montanez, Executive, Multicultural Sales & Community Activation, PepisCo North, will be the keynote speaker.

Montanez began his career with PepsiCo at Frito-Lay as a janitor in 1976 in the Rancho Cucamonga plant and is now one of PepsiCo’s top Latino executives, creating the Flaming Hot line of products including Flamin Hot Cheetos. This influenced the company’s future ethnic products and the first Frito-Lay Hispanic marketing team.

“The University of Missouri-Kansas City is proud to join the Greater Kansas City Hispanic Scholarship Fund in investing in the education of Hispanic youth by providing matching scholarship dollars,” said Stancia Jenkins, Assistant Vice Chancellor, UMKC Community and Public Affairs. “An investment in HSF is not only an investment in the award recipients, but it also is one of the steps that will continue to move the university toward our goal of creating a more diverse campus community.”

The Greater Kansas City Hispanic Scholarship Fund, since its inception in 1984, has awarded more than 2,500 scholarships totaling more than $2 million through money raised from the public and private sectors, as well as matching scholarships from area colleges and universities. The Greater Kansas City Hispanic Scholarship Fund is overseen by the Hispanic Development Fund, an affiliate of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund is pleased to award scholarships to students this year to pursue their educational dreams,” said Ramon Murguia, Greater Kansas City Hispanic Scholarship Fund Advisory Board chair. “We are proud of our community’s 27-year commitment to increasing college attainment rates for Latinos here in Kansas City.”

The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 15,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a four-part mission: life and health sciences; visual and performing arts; urban issues and education; and a vibrant learning and campus life experience. For more information about UMKC, visit www.umkc.edu. You can also find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and watch us on YouTube.


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