Group of individuals. Awards.
 
Scholarships can help college students pay for expenses, but they can also expose a person to so much more outside the classroom.
 
Thanks to a generous $200,000 grant award from CITGO Petroleum Corporation (formerly Simon Bolivar Foundation), the Academic Achievers and Scholarship Program at Hostos provides holistic supports to help students grow and achieve success. Through this program, students participate in volunteering, tutoring, academic and leadership development workshops, special presentations, and cultural activities. This two-year scholarship program also supports tuition, fees and other additional educational expenses, including books and transportation.
 
On February 23, twenty student participants from this enriching program were celebrated during an afternoon recognition ceremony on campus. Maria Vasquez, RN and Coordinator of the Academic Achievers & Scholarship Program who leads the barrier-breaking project, lauded the work of the students and the support CITGO provided.
 
Also present at the ceremony were Hostos President David Gómez, administration and staff from Hostos’ Divisions of Student Development and Enrollment Management (SDEM), Administration & Finance, Institutional Advancement, Student Life, the Student Success Coaching Unit, and others who helped to make this experience possible.
 
Several students spoke about how the program has pushed them in ways they didn’t think were possible. One student, Sonia López, said the cultural events she was exposed to were “life changing.”
 
“This was a great opportunity for me to learn so much more about the world,” López said, adding she was the first in her family to attend college. “People with similar backgrounds as mine don’t always get these opportunities; I am just so grateful.”
 
About Hostos Community College
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College is an educational agent for change that has been transforming and improving the quality of life in the South Bronx and neighboring communities for nearly half a century. Since 1968, Hostos has been a gateway to intellectual growth and socioeconomic mobility, as well as a point of departure for lifelong learning, success in professional careers, and transfer to advanced higher education programs.

Hostos offers 28 associate degree programs and two certificate programs that facilitate easy transfer to The City University of New York’s (CUNY) four-year colleges or baccalaureate studies at other institutions. The College has an award-winning Division of Continuing Education & Workforce Development that offers professional development courses and certificate-bearing workforce training programs. Hostos is part of CUNY, the nation’s leading urban public university, which serves more than 500,000 students at 24 colleges.