The Hector and Gloria López Foundation (HGLF) has announced a five-year, $2.4 million grant to provide full-tuition assistance for 15 Latinx first-generation college students at the University of Texas at San Antonio. 

In addition to covering tuition, the scholarships will provide students with support for fees and other resources, including mentorship, tutoring, housing, study abroad programs, paid internships, and leadership development. Scholarship candidates need not submit an application or meet a minimum GPA or SAT/ACT score. However, applicants must be Latinx, demonstrate a financial need, be the first in their family to attend college, and have lived in or graduated from a high school in one of the five focus areas: El Paso, Austin, San Antonio, and communities in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. 

The investment is informed by the Texas 60x30 Higher Education Plan, which calls for 60 percent of working-age Texans to receive a degree, certificate, or other postsecondary credential of value by 2030. To reach this goal, at least 285,000 Latinx students must complete a degree or certificate each year, and in 2021, only 131,915 Latinxs completed a degree or certificate.

“It’s important that young Latinos see a clear path to success, and UTSA is a key contributor to making Latino dreams a reality,” said HGLF chief executive Sergio Rodríguez, who is also a nephew of Hector and Gloria López. “The University of Texas at San Antonio is an ideal recipient of the López Foundation grant for its infrastructure to serve first-generation and low-income students, its programs to increase Latino representation, and because it resides in a city with a majority Latino population.” 

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