Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation

Puerto Rican Heritage Society, “Héctor Méndez Scholarship”and Luz Gonzalez Amadeo Scholarship

The Puerto Rican Heritage Society first joined the compendium of organizations affiliated to Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation-Bexar County Scholarship Clearing House during the 2003-2004 school year. This affiliation broadens the diversity of students who are able to apply for the Héctor Méndez Scholarship. The Piper Scholars Committee, composed of local educators who have worked with scholarship selections for several years, evaluates the candidates’ applications and ranks them in order of merit. This process adds the dimension of objectivity to the selection of the finalists.

The Puerto Rican Heritage Society will award four to six scholarships (maximum of $1,000.00 each scholarship) to graduating high school seniors. Students must reside in San Antonio, Texas. Students must be Puerto Rican or descendant from Puerto Rican parents and/or grandparents (with the exception of the Open scholarship). Scholarship recipients must attend any two or four year college/university or vocational/technical school for the school year starting August/September (immediately, after graduating from high school). One open scholarship will be awarded to a non-Puerto Rican student who meets the eligibility criteria and has financial need (if student is selected as a finalist, proof of financial need will be required). The number of scholarships granted and the amount of the award money may vary each school year according to the availability of funds.

*Request application from High School Counselor.
*Application Deadline: January 15.
*Announcement of scholarship recipients: April 1.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING NOMINEES

1. Applicants MUST be of Puerto Rican descent and residents of San Antonio, Texas. One open scholarship will be awarded to a non-Puerto Rican student who meets the eligibility criteria and has financial need (if student is selected as a finalist, proof of financial need will be required).
2. GPA (minimum 3.0) – consideration given to course difficulty
- Advanced Placement courses
3. Scholastic Achievements:
- National Merit Scholar/Finalist/Semi-Finalist
- National Hispanic Scholar/Finalist/Semi-Finalist
- National Honor Society
4. Leadership:
- School
- Church/Community/Volunteer Services
- Lastly, sports
5. Essay:
- Students’ ability to express themselves with a clear sense of direction
- Creativity
- Correct usage of spelling and grammar