Texas Border Business
MCALLEN, Texas – South Texas College (STC) in partnership with the Mexican Consulate in McAllen have again pledged their support to students from Mexico ahead of the fall 2022 semester.
STC and the Consulate of Mexico in McAllen Froylán Yescas Cedillo signed an “Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior”(IME) or “Institute for Mexicans Abroad” Becas (Scholarships) amendment to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The amendment to the MOU was then signed by STC Vice-President of Institutional
Advancement and Economic Development Rodney H. Rodriguez, Ph.D and Yescas Cedillo on Thursday morning.
The scholarship aims to help Mexican students, students with dual citizenship and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students also known as “Dreamers” living in the U.S. get a college degree by awarding eligible students with $500. The awards are meant to pay for tuition, fees and textbooks as outlined in the MOU between the Consulate and STC.
Since the grant’s start in 2014, the Mexican Consul has awarded nearly $150,000 in scholarships to more than 150 STC students.
In order to qualify, a student must be a Mexican national or person of Mexican-origin residing in the United States and must not be receiving any other type of scholarship or financial aid.
“This is an effort between the Mexican government and the IME Becas program that we are celebrating today for financial assistance to Mexican students with these grants,” Rodriguez told attendees in Spanish. “The program looks to expand the educational opportunities in higher education for international students. STC believes that there is no better investment in a person than through education, and we will continue trying to work with Mexico to develop more opportunities for students studying here in the United States.”
In attendance at the ceremony was STC Trustee Danny Guzman, McAllen Economic Development Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Keith Patridge and respective STC deans and faculty.
The Consulate of Mexico in McAllen presented STC with more than $9,000 in order to provide scholarships to qualifying students. STC will match those funds for a total of $18,000.
“We can look at the impact on students in two parts, statistically and through life stories,” Yescas Cedillo said in Spanish. “Statistically, we know that more than 300 students have benefitted through the IME Becas program, and this means that there are more than 300 lives who had the opportunity to study and receive skills and improve their lives. This is what is most important and we are going to keep working with South Texas College because we want to reach more students and support them and help them reach their goals for a better quality of life in the Valley.”
Since the grant’s start in 2014, the Mexican Consul has awarded nearly $150,000 to more than 150 STC students who have benefitted from the IME scholarship.
Mexican-born students who are undocumented are not eligible for federal assistance for college, which includes federal Pell Grants, federal work-study and federal student loans often making them pay out-of-pocket for courses.
To apply for the scholarship funds, students can visit STC’s scholarships page on at Scholarships Administered By STC’s Student Financial Services.
