Brenau University, for the fourth consecutive year, has received a $6,000 grant renewal from the government of Mexico to be awarded to first-generation Mexican-American students.
This year the grant will be awarded to six students.
"We can open doors on our own, but some doorknobs are a little bit too high for us and this scholarship has helped me open the door to continue on my journey," said Corinna Mendieta Jimenez, a junior nursing major, who earned the scholarship last year.
Mendieta Jimenez is working her way up to become a nurse in the ER.
Brenau hosted Mexican Consulate General Francisco Javier Díaz de León and Gabriela Cobos Uribe for a signing ceremony formalizing the grant Friday, on the historic Gainesville campus.
"Gainesville is a city that in large to a large part exists because of workers who come from other places and particularly Mexico," said Consulate Díaz de León.
He said that he understood that any help students can get to make their finances work so that they can study in such a "beautiful campus and university" like Brenau can go a long way.
The grant is funded via the Institute for Mexicans Abroad scholarship program, or IME Becas, with “becas” meaning “scholarship” in Spanish.
President Skleder expressed her gratitude for the renewal of the grant.
"Incredibly grateful to the generosity of the Mexican people and the work that you all do in a consulate. Students like this are going to go out and they're going to transform the world," she said.
