Twenty-four Bergen students comprise Bergen’s inaugural recipients of $30,000 in scholarships from the Mexican Consulate.
HACKENSACK, N.J. – Bergen Community College’s Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack has received nearly $30,000 from the Consulate of Mexico to provide scholarships for students of Mexican heritage.
Funded by Juntos Podemos (Together We Can) and the Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME), Bergen represents the first college or university in New Jersey to receive the award. With matching funds from the Bergen Community College Foundation, the scholarships will benefit up to 86 qualifying students.
During a Jan. 25 luncheon at the institution’s county seat location to welcome the inaugural recipients of the scholarship, Ciarco Learning Center Dean Sandra Sroka addressed the Bergen’s dedication to supporting the community’s growing Hispanic population.
“We are so grateful to our funders who have helped make a quality education possible for new students,” Sroka said. “The generosity of our community partners has helped the College continue to create clear pathways – without huge financial hurdles – to higher education for these emerging leaders.”
Approximately one quarter of Bergen students identify as Hispanic. As such, the U.S. Department of Education designates the College as a Hispanic-Serving Institution. These factors ultimately helped influence the consulate’s decision to distribute scholarships to Bergen students.
More than 145,000 residents of Hispanic origin, or 19.4 percent of all residents, live in Bergen County, which has experienced a three percent increase in that segment of the population since the 2010 U.S. Census.
Established by Mexico in 2005, the IME Becas scholarship program was created to contribute to the education and improvement of individuals of Mexican origin living in the U.S.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls 16,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
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