HOPE offers scholarships to members for fall semester
By Bishal Malla, Staff Writer
Hispanic Organization to Promote Education is offering four scholarships for the upcoming fall semester, said HOPE President Martin Ramirez.
The scholarships include one for $1,000, one for $500 and two for $250.
To apply for a scholarship, students must be a member of HOPE, he said. It costs only $5 to join.
Ramirez said the deadline to apply for the scholarships is Tuesday, March 13.
He said the fund for the scholarships came from different fundraising events that HOPE did last semester. Oklahoma City attorney Michael Brooks Jimenez contributed $1,000.
There are certain requirements for recieving the scholarships, he said.
The student must have minimum of 3.0 GPA, must show community involvement and must be enrolled or planned to enroll as a full-time student at OCCC.
HOPE has other events this semester, Ramirez said.
They will be attending a Latino Youth Leadership Conference held on Feb. 20, at Oklahoma City University.
He said, the conference is about the future leaders of the Hispanic community to come together in an open environment to educate, discuss, motivate and build today’s leaders.
There are 250 to 350 Hispanic students expected to attend.
HOPE members also will be attending the annual conference of the National Council of La Raza, which will be held from July 25. through 28, in Chicago, Illinois.
NCLR is the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., Ramirez said.
The group works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans.
As part of its fundraising program, HOPE is hosting a taco sale on Thursday, Feb. 19, in the College Union.
HOPE currently has 20 members. They are planning to visit various high schools as the part of their community service and volunteer work this semester.
Their motive for visiting high schools is to interact with the students and give them ideas on how to be successful once they go to college, said Sergio Gallegos, sponsor of HOPE.
Gallegos is an admission advisor at OCCC.
Members will make high school students aware of different scholarships and funding aids available at the college, which will help them when they go to college.
For more information regarding HOPE, e-mail Ramirez at mramirez@occc.edu.
Staff Writer Bishal Malla can be reached at StaffWriter1@occc.edu.
