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Scholarships, financial aid open to minority students
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Posted on Mar 10 2005
There is a great need to raise the awareness of minority students in the United States, including those on Guam and the Micronesia, of available scholarships, fellowships and financial aid specifically open to these students.
This was stressed by Martha Cruz Ruth, an island resident and a commissioner on President George W. Bush’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Ruth has released a compilation of websites listing 52 such scholarships funded by various businesses and organizations from across the nation specifically targeting minority youth compiled by the Minority Supplier Council in Kansas City, a diversity chapter of the National Minority Supplier Development Council.
Fellow AAPI Commissioner Joe Melookaran from Kansas City said there’s a need for more public awareness of the opportunities, especially since the program organizations often lack adequate manpower resources to promote them or to conduct outreach efforts. Many are known only in smaller circles and benefit only those who have knowledge and quick access to the funding sources. In some cases, the allocated funds are not fully distributed for lack of enough eligible applicants.
“It is part of our responsibility as Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to make these options known in our communities,” Ruth said.
She expressed hopes of generating interest among students, parents, teachers and administrators to link with the websites for details and qualification requirements.
