By Don Krim

 

“My housekeeper’s daughter is really bright and committed to a college education. How does the family apply to Jóvenes Adelante for a beca?”

 

My favorite question to answer!

 

To start with, a few questions: What year is the student in? What kinds of grades does the student have? Are there any others in the family who went to college?

 

Grades so-so but not in senior year of prepa, what a great motivation to focus and improve!

 

Good grades and already a senior in high school? A first-generation student? Time to contact our convocatoria coordinator and get on a list for information as soon as it is disseminated. The contact information is listed at the end of this article.

 

Before we know it, Jóvenes Adelante will be heavily reaching out to communities throughout the San Miguel Municipality. This past year our reach brought us applicants from 62 of those communities. 

 

Our goal is simple: every student who wants to attend university in SMA from a poorer family should know about us and be ready to see if they qualify to apply. They will hear about us on the radio, on the back of buses, through schools, through social media, and via our pre-application orientation. Last year there were over 500 registrants for the Facebook live presentation of how our application works. 

 

So, do you know someone looking for support? Please tell them to watch JA’s Facebook page; tell them to write to the office for information and to get on our mailing list; if they are not yet ready, tell them to start working harder now and set a goal! Self-initiative is a critical feature Jóvenes Adelante looks for in an applicant!

 

“Can I sponsor a student I know?”

 

Another question I am asked a lot. I love the sentiment. The answer, however, is more complicated. Jóvenes Adelante’s charter requires an open call for all spaces in the program. This is in compliance with both Mexican tax authorities with respect to a nonprofit, and with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, which governs our 501c(3) and Canadian Revenue. We cannot automatically favor a specific applicant because funds are available. What we can do, is welcome your donation to sponsor a student. If the student you know does apply, and is selected completely blind via our normal process, we can then credit your sponsorship to that student.

 

Starting next week, keep reading for more on sponsoring a student and what that means to a student and to the community of SMA.

 

And whatever else, always remember and let the student know that does not only provide a financial scholarship, or beca.  Jóvenes Adelante maintains the most robust, multi-dimensional university support program in Mexico. To help a student get advanced information, direct the aspirant to Dulce Cerritos, at d.cerritos@jovenesadelante.org. To sponsor a 2022 student, contact donkrim@jovenesadelante.org.