Hispanic Scholarship Fund awards scholarships to eight UNT students

From a UNT News Service Press Release

Eight UNT students won scholarship awards from the Hispanic Scholarship Fund for the 2008-09 academic year. The scholarships, ranging from $2,000 to $2,500, can be used for tuition, fees, books and other academic-related supplies, as well as for room and board and transportation expenses related to school.

Since 2004, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund has awarded more than 20 scholarships to UNT students and recent graduates. This year's eight scholarships are the most Hispanic Scholarship Fund awards won by UNT students in a single year.

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the nation's largest provider of college financial aid for Latino students, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the United States by doubling the rate of Hispanic students earning college degrees. The fund provides college scholarships and educational outreach support to Latinos attending nearly 2,000 colleges and universities in all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information about the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, visit www.hsf.net/.

The students were required to submit transcripts and letters of recommendation and to write essays pertaining to their academic and community interests, as well as to their Hispanic heritage, to compete for the awards.

James Duban, director of UNT's Office for Nationally Competitive Scholarships, who recruited the students to apply for the scholarship and who coached them through the process, says that "the fund rewards outstanding students who have accomplished great things both on and off campus. Our students have brought added distinction to themselves and to UNT by winning one of these awards.

"When our students become either finalists for, or winners of, nationally competitive scholarships, the scholarship foundation is offering external validation of the integrity of a UNT education and of the quality of the students who attend UNT," Duban says. "Such recognition benefits the student and the university alike."

The eight scholarship recipients are:
Clare Carrasco, a doctoral candidate in musicology from Las Cruces, N.M.
Lane Ingram, a master's candidate in counseling from Keller
Ashley Mendeke, a junior music performance major from Cedar Park
Cecilia Orta, a senior interdisciplinary studies major from Dallas
Marcelo Ostria, a senior international studies major from Flower Mound
Angelica Ramirez, a master's candidate in information science from El Paso
Jon Sauceda, a doctoral candidate in musicology from Longview
Jennifer Valdez, a senior business administration major from Dallas

UNT News Service Press Release
Buddy Price can be reached at buddy.price@unt.edu.

Read other stories in this issue:

• President's Note
• Moving Forward: UNT forms new college
• Jazz alumni to reunite, pay tribute to retired directors
• Women's athletic teams fare well in NCAA's graduation tracking data
• UNT reaching out to alumni and friends
• Faculty Focus: Professors to study whether storing greenhouse gases is safe
• UNT Traditions: Homecoming
• Featured Link: UNT's updated web site
• Alumni association returns to previous name, University of North Texas Alumni Association