Next Generation Scholarship Program

The Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation (ILLCF) was established in 2002 as a strong voice and resource for the Illinois Latino population and those working and living within Latino communities statewide.  

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Each year, the members of the ILLCF select outstanding young people who meet the eligibility criteria to receive The Michael W. Gonzalez scholarship to help them achieve their educational objectives.  Last year, $5,000 was granted to 20 students whose home residence is in Illinois.  These individuals must be fully enrolled in an accredited institution for either a certificate, technical school, vocational school, undergraduate, or graduate program. The application will open on May 3rd, and the deadline will be Monday, July 3rd, 2023. Scholarship checks will be paid directly to the student’s college or university to apply toward the student’s tuition and fees.  Scholarship checks will not be paid directly to the individual student.  The scholarship is available to all Illinois students of Latino ancestry, regardless of immigration status.  We encourage all students who meet the criteria to apply.

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Each applicant will need to fill out an application, write a personal statement (minimum of 250 words, max of 1000 words) and provide contact information of a professor, teacher, or mentor that will submit a letter of recommendation on their behalf.

 

Please make sure to have the correct information for your recommender and your personal statement written out so that you can copy and paste that information into the application. All applications will need to be submitted in one sitting.