The Hispanic Public Relations Association’s New York Chapter today announced the creation of the HPRA-NY Scholarship Program to assist New York area students of Hispanic descent (origin) achieve their educational goals. The program recognizes outstanding undergraduate academic achievement and community service among students who are pursuing a career in public relations and related communications fields. The announcement was made last night by HPRA-NY President Andy Checo at the organization’s “Inside the Mind” event in New York City.
“There has never been a better time to launch a program in support of the next generation of Hispanic professionals in the communications sector,” said Checo. “Recent data shows that there is a record rate of Hispanic students enrolling in colleges and universities and we have an obligation to ensure that those students get the necessary resources enabling them to commence and advance their careers.”
A recent analysis conducted by The Pew Hispanic Center revealed that nearly 69 percent of 2012 high school Hispanics enrolled in college compared to 67 percent of their counterparts. While these numbers are promising, the analysis also uncovered a disparity in the number of Hispanics enrolling full-time in four-year colleges and universities.
The HPRA-NY scholarship will be awarded to a qualified undergraduate student. The recipient will receive a $2,000 scholarship and will also be invited to attend the National HPRA PRemios Awards Gala in Los Angeles. The winner will also receive one-free (1) year student membership to HPRA-NY.
The application deadline is Wednesday, July 3, 2013. Call-to-entry is open immediately. In order to qualify, student applicants must:
· Be a resident of the State of New York, New Jersey or Connecticut
· Attend a New York, New Jersey or Connecticut based four-year accredited college or university
· Be of Hispanic heritage
· On a 4.0 scale, maintain a minimum 2.7 cumulative GPA
· Major in public relations, communications, journalism, advertising and/or marketing
The application is available via: http://www.hpra-usa.org/ny/scholarships/
The 2013 HPRA-NY Scholarship recipient will be announced later this summer.