Scholar Spotlight

Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts

Scholar Spotlight

Creating Opportunity

In 1989, a few concerned citizens created the Latino Scholarship Association to help improve educational opportunities for Latino students in this region. According to its current president, Maddie Marquez, a growing number of Latino students are so sure they cannot afford a college education, they do not even apply for admission. She added, “Our mission is to get the word out that funding is available, to provide the funds to defray college costs, and to publicly celebrate these students’ achievements so others realize it is possible.”

Latino Scholarship Association
Scholarship Committee

The Latino Scholarship Association established a scholarship fund with the Community Foundation in 1996 in order to take advantage of the Foundation’s services, including its expertise in administering a sophisticated scholarship process. Since then, the fund has provided scholarships to 44 students, one of whom was José, a student at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

When José graduated from Springfield’s Central High School, he wanted to make the most of himself. As he describes, “Life wasn’t easy growing up. Everyone around me failed. I didn’t want to do that.” José wanted to go to college, but the price tag was too expensive for his family. “My scholarship is the determining factor for going to college and getting a good job. I couldn’t do either without it.”