A new nonprofit organization founded by alumni of the University of Florida has rolled out a scholarship fund for Latine students enrolled in its institution.
Founded in 2021 by Latine alumni at UF, Gators Unidos encourages educational, mentorship, and career opportunities for future Latine university graduates. Through its Gators Unidos Scholarship (GUS) Fund, the organization hopes to support the advancement of current Latine students by offering them scholarships and networking opportunities.
According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, there has been a 5.4 percent drop in the number of Latine undergraduates enrolled in college. Gators Unidos founder and president Dayana Falcon, who works as a human resources professional at Walt Disney, says that although UF has graduated more than 30,000 Latine in the university’s history and currently has 19.5 percent representation in Latine students, the school can do more.
“We have a unique opportunity to do even more to empower these students with unlimited resources to succeed,” Falcon told Remezcla. “We will unleash their untapped potential to advance economic growth and innovative breakthroughs to accelerate us into the future.”
Through GUS, a select number of undergraduate Latine students at UF will receive $2,500 in financial aid and gain access to several unique professional development resources to help them with their career aspirations. These resources include an exclusive membership to a peer network of Latine graduates through a private LinkedIn group. Scholarship recipients will also be invited to meet-up events that take place in cities nationwide throughout the year.
For more information on Gators Unidos, visit gatorsunidos.com.