By Zanub Saeed
Ronald McDonald House Charities announced that it chose four of its recipients for their RMHC/HACER National Scholarship this year, where four Hispanic high school students will receive $100,000 each towards their college education.
The students chosen for the sixth year of the RMHC/HACER National Scholarship tradition were selected so based on their academic achievement, community service, and overall financial need, said a press release issued by Ronald McDonald House Charities on Tuesday. The four students chosen were: Maria Fabre of Edinburg, Tex., heading to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Kevin Pardinas from Miami, attending Princeton University; Emily Salvador from Vero Beach, Fla., also matriculating at MIT; and Carina Zuniga from San Juan, Tex, going to Baylor University.
"The 2012 RMHC/HACER National Scholarship recipients are joining a special family of young Hispanics who are both committed to academic excellence and to service to their communities," Martin J. Coyne, president and CEO of RMHC, stated for the press release.
"Recent figures presented by the Census Bureau show that the number of Hispanics with college degrees has increased by 80 percent in the last ten years and we're especially proud to have assisted more than 15,000 Hispanic students since 1985 with more than $22 million in RMHC/HACER college scholarships. In 2008, the first $100,000 National Scholarship was added to the program which makes this a special year as we celebrate our first National Scholarship college graduating class."
To celebration the graduation of the 2008 RMHC/HACER National Scholarship winners from their respective universities, McDonald's will be hosting a three-day event for the 19 recipients who received scholarships since the tradition's inception in Chicago this August. The trip will include mentoring services for those recently graduated on how to obtain a job in the market, as well as how to network, and to help serve families at a local Ronald McDonald House. The event will end with a graduation luncheon, set to take place on August 16th.
"The RMHC/HACER National Scholarship made it possible to go to college despite my family's financial hardships. Now that I've finished my undergraduate degree, I am able to serve as a mentor to Hispanic high school and college students," 2008 recipient Samuel Cruz was quoted as saying for the press release. "I'm looking forward to this summer's activities and meeting the latest recipients of this great scholarship program."
