Valley nonprofit group donates $1 million for UTPA scholarships

EDINBURG — The University of Texas-Pan American was the recipient this week of the largest one-time donation of scholarship funding in the institution’s history.

The $1 million contribution comes from the Valley Alliance of Mentors for Opportunities and Scholarships, a McAllen-based nonprofit group committed to improving and broadening educational opportunities for Hispanic students in South Texas.

With a matching donation from the UTPA Foundation, VAMOS hopes to free Valley high school graduates from financial hardships that might otherwise prevent them from attending college.

VAMOS President Sonia A. Falcon said her agency’s donation is a step up from the $400,000 it provides annually to students from the Valley.

“These are kids who want to go (to college) and want a better life but don’t yet have the resources,” Falcon said. “Many of our students are first-generation college-bound kids, so it’s important to know they can still help support their family.”

UTPA has received bigger donations in the past, but this is the largest one-time award of scholarship funding the university has received. Most other donors spread their scholarship contributions over several years or semesters.

Preparing the VAMOS scholarships for use next year, Interim Provost Ana María Rodríguez said the university is also working out a leadership component to the four-year awards. That component should help encourage the students to pursue loftier goals in their futures, she said.

“When we look for leaders from Hispanic or low-income backgrounds, there are not very many,” Rodríguez said. “This will be an opportunity to nurture some of those students who have that leadership potential.”

Rodríguez and UTPA President Robert Nelsen said the donation generously affirms the university’s mission to fulfill the region’s desire for educational opportunities.

“You can’t serve the area without cooperation of individuals already here,” Nelsen said. “We all got fairly emotional accepting the donation, because it is really going to make a difference.”

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Neal Morton covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4472.