Dear Friends of HSF:
When I think about the many significant Hispanic Scholarship Fund accomplishments over our 35-year history, I am awed by the sheer number of students we’ve been able to help make college a reality. When I think about those 50,000 students and how they have given back to their country as professionals and to their communities as citizens, the long-term benefits of our work are even more awesome. Our students are achievers; they are critical assets to the continued health of our country.
But for every student we’ve been able to help, there are approximately three well-qualified students we’ve not had the resources to support. There is still much to be done, and with the help of our extraordinary and dedicated donors, we are committed to continuing this important work.
Hispanics are the fastest growing population in the U.S. and a growing force in the American economy. Yet despite this growth and gains in college enrollment, Hispanic Americans graduate from college at half the rate of their peers. Expanding access to college is at the heart of our work, and increasing the number of Hispanics with college degrees is the driving force behind our new goal to have a college degree in every Latino household.
This is why we’ve joined groups including the White House, the Lumina Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in calling for a national effort to significantly increase the number of college graduates over the next two decades. The future of U.S. competitiveness depends on increasing the number of Americans with college degrees, and Hispanic Americans are a vital part of realizing this goal.
At this moment in our nation’s history, we have an unprecedented opportunity to provide fertile ground for upcoming generations of Hispanics to pursue college. Only with an educated and productive Hispanic population will America retain its lead in the global economy.
Raul R. Romero
Chairman, Board of Directors