Thanks to a recent grant from the Government of Mexico, Brenau University in Gainesville will be able to help students of Mexican origin with tuition costs.
The $10,000 grant comes from El Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior - or the Institute for Mexicans Abroad - which is a program implemented by the Government of Mexico to support Mexican students from low-income households living in the United States who are completing basic or higher education or pursuing technological careers. Brenau will match the grant, bringing the total scholarship amount to $20,000.
In order for a student to qualify for the grant, the student should have been born in Mexico or have parents who were born in Mexico.
Brenau President Anne Skleder signed an agreement for the funding at the Mexican Consulate in Atlanta on Dec. 19, 2019. The announcement of the grant was made public Monday, Feb. 3, 2020.
"We at Brenau are so grateful to the Government of Mexico, who is providing this scholarship through the local consulate," Skleder said. "For more than 141 years, we have been committed to providing access and funding such as this, which will help ensure that students born in Mexico or of Mexican parents can obtain a world-class education at Brenau. We know education changes lives and the trajectories of families, and we are proud to have received this important funding."
In addition to the funding, support for Mexican students is provided through a Hispanic peer mentoring program and guidance from multilingual staff in the university’s admissions, financial aid and student services offices.
The goal of the scholarship is not only to offer aid to students of Mexican origin, but also to increase retention and graduation among these students.
