NJIT's Hispanic and Latinx Leadership Council Gives First-Ever Scholarships

The Hispanic and Latinx Leadership Council (HLLC) held Café y Conexiones to kick off this year's Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations at NJIT.

Launched in January 2022, Café y Conexiones brings together NJIT's Hispanic and Latinx students with HLLC members, alumni, and business and civic leaders in the Hispanic and Latinx communities on a regular basis during the academic year.

The first Café y Conexiones of 2022 included the visit of New Jersey Senator Teresa Ruiz and a conversation between President Teik C. Lim with alumnus Ruben Esquivel '71, BS EE. To close out the event, the first-ever HLLC Scholarships were awarded to Giovanni Martinez-Gonzalez, a second-year student studying communications and Roberto Saenz, a third-year mechanical engineering major and applied mathematics minor.

"I'm excited because the students were able to participate today, and they had an opportunity to hear from an alumnus who's doing amazing things in the field that he's in and they're seeing somebody that looks like them, that speaks like them and that has gone through the same struggles that they have," said Angelica Ogando '02, '11, HLLC co-chair. "For me that was quite important."

The HLLC Scholarship is an annual award established by HLLC members to pay tuition, room and board, and/or required fees for outstanding undergraduate students.

Esquivel, a native of Cuba and vice president for Community and Corporate Relations of UT Southwestern Medical Center since 1995, inspired the event's attendees, predominantly from this year's incoming freshman class and the HLLC scholarship awardees.

"Keep your eyes open for other ways in which we can achieve what we set out to do," said Esquivel. "There's more than one way to get where we want to get. The straight line may be the shortest distance, but not necessarily the only path."

During the conversation with President Lim, Esquivel shared that he's still working on getting his MBA, something that really stuck with one of the scholarship recipients.

"After hearing Mr. Esquivel, he truly inspired me because he said that he was working, and even though it took him nine years, he eventually got it [his NJIT degree]," said Martinez-Gonzalez, of Newark. "Just to know that he's back to school really inspired me."

Saenz, another of the day's scholarship recipients and whose goal is to enter the space industry after obtaining a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering with a focus in space exploration and earth monitoring from Georgia Institute of Technology, described it as an honor to be among the first recipients of the HLLC scholarship.

"Being awarded the HLLC scholarship means a lot to me because ever since I started school here at NJIT, I made sure to put more of myself into my studies and into the Society of Hispanic Professionals Engineers," said Saenz, of Union City. "Since my parents weren't able to complete their education, I want to make sure I can complete my education, and continue pursuing my own goals and community outreach efforts on the side."

Ogando highlighted how the purpose of the HLLC board is to make NJIT a Hispanic serving institution. She's happy that enrollment numbers for incoming Hispanic students is at 30% in NJIT's largest ever freshman cohort.

"The scholarship awards was a full circle moment because when I was attending NJIT I remember when I received my first scholarship, it wasn't through a Hispanic serving council, it was through general scholarships.

"I was able to give back to the students through the HLLC, and for me right there the work has been done making sure that Latino students are receiving the funding, that they're receiving the resources that they need to be successful at NJIT."

With Hispanic Heritage Month in full swing at NJIT, keep in the lookout for the following events:

• Hispanic Heritage Month Opening Ceremony - 9/21, Campus Center Atrium, 2:30-5:30 p.m.
• Latin Night - 9/23, Campus Center Pub (3rd Floor), 6-11 p.m.
• Sí Se Puede Panel - 9/26, Room: CKB 116, 4-5 p.m.
• Diversity Dialogue Series - 10/3, Campus Center
• Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration - 10/8, Campus Center Atrium, 2:30-5 p.m.

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