SMU receives funds from IME-Becas to help Mexican students

Jessica de la Rosa, a SMU alum and admissions counselor, and Brother Ed Siderewicz, Assistant to the President for First Generation and LaSallian Initiatives

WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary’s University was one of three universities selected by the Consulate of Mexico in the Twin Cities to receive scholarship funding for Mexican and Mexican-American students. Mexican Consul Ana Luisa Fajer recognized recipients of the IME-Becas 2011/2012 Program at a ceremony in Minneapolis on Aug. 24.

Receiving funds from the Institute for Mexicans Abroad were: Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota; Centro, Inc.; Latino Economic Development Center; Minnesota State University, Mankato; and Saint Catherine’s University. Saint Mary’s received $9,000 for scholarships.

The objective of the IME-Becas 2011/2012 Program is to help raise the education level within the Mexican population in the United States. The Consulate of Mexico formed a Minnesota committee to determine the assignation of the funds to the selected institutions.

Saint Mary’s University’s First-Generation Initiative offers academic, personal and financial support to first-generation college students — many of whom are Hispanic and Latino — as they transition to higher education.

This committee based its decisions on the following criteria:

• The selected institutions have programs available to Mexican students or students of Mexican origin to pursue higher education.

• Institutions are able to match or improve the funds.

• There would be no indirect expenses affecting the allocated funds

• The selection process considered geographic diversity, as well as diverse professional opportunities for students in the Twin Cities area, as well as outside the metropolitan area where there is a significant number of Mexican people.