A free new STEM scholarship platform is available for Latino students in high school and college. The platform, called IOScholarships, is also a great place for these students to find information on internships, work opportunities, financial education, and other resources based “upon GPA, merit and financial background,” NBC News reported.
According to the platform’s website, IOScholarships also provides thousands of curated scholarships and financial education resources for students who are African American, American Indian/Alaska Native and Asian Pacific Islander. Additionally, the platform offers a career aptitude quiz that helps students discover STEM careers that fit their unique interests.
The goal of the program, which is part of the National Scholarships Provider Association (NSPA), is to help Latino students graduate without debt while helping increase the number of students of color in STEM, according to its founder María Trochimezuk. Currently, Latinos only make up 8% of STEM jobs even though they are 17 percent of the workforce in all occupations, according to the Pew Research Center. Further, only 12 percent of Latino students have STEM degrees in 2018, compared to 15% of the share of all degree holders.
“I always had a vision that I wanted to create a platform that would be a community,” Trochimezuk told NBC News. “It’s a first of its kind because we are focusing on underrepresented and underserved students, African American, Latinos, Asian American, Native American and also we have scholarships for DACA” [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] students.
Originally from Argentina, Trochimezuk, who is now in her 40s, realized how little scholarship opportunities there are for Latino students after attending colleges in the United States, as well as working for various public education campaigns when she was older.
Learn more about the IOScholarships platform or apply for scholarships on its website. A number of scholarships are currently available between March and June.