The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) will begin to offer its Luminary Scholarship program Fall 2022.
President Guy Bailey unveiled the one-of-a-kind, merit-based scholarship program at a press conference last Tuesday on the Edinburg campus with state Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen. It was funded, in part, by philanthropists MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett.
The program is a full-ride undergraduate scholarship and extends to the graduate level at UTRGV. It could be renewed to a four-year graduate program in the UTRGV School of Medicine (SOM).
President Bailey highlighted the financial incentive of the scholarship program.
“We think the community will be very excited about it because what this does, it, first of all, it offers our kids an opportunity to go, and all the way through their professional education, without debt,” said Bailey.
He also said,
“There is nothing like it in the United States, I don’t think, and it is a major investment in our students, in our community, and what we’re asking our students to do when you graduate, just give back, as was given to you. That’s all we ask.”
In order to receive the scholarship, the student must pledge to work in the Valley for a period of time, depending on their degree program, once they graduate.
Hinojosa spoke with Vaquero Radio and said this program is a way to help Hispanic families and students achieve a dream of getting an education.
“On a long term basis, what UTRGV is doing is providing that support, and the framework, that our students need, to be able to become successful,” said Hinojosa.
The Georgetown alum shared his view of the Valley.
“This is where the action is, this is where the growth is, and we want to do everything possible to provide incentives to our students to stay here in the Rio Grande Valley.”
High school student, Muhammad Noorani attended the event. Noorani plans to apply for the scholarship. He shared what this will mean to his parents.
“They both been, telling me, to go, as far as I can, and I feel with this, I am able to achieve a lot,”
Hinojosa shared the future of education in the Río Grande.
“We’re going to continue to grow, you’ll see us expanding, and providing more programs, more MBAs, more doctoral programs, different types of Masters… Our students can have the option of many different career paths, to actually achieve their goals.”
For more information on this program, visit the Scholarships and Enrollment Communication’s page.
The Fall 2022 application deadline is Dec. 1.
This is Carla Landaverde for Vaquero Radio. Rodolfo Alvarado contributed to this report.
