NITCS Scholarship Information and Application

2007 - 2008

Scholarship Fund Application

Our History	Mission Statement
Five local individuals founded the Northern Illinois Tejano Cultural Society. Their dream was to keep and preserve the Tejano Culture, Heritage, and Music, and to educate and provide relief to those in need. Those same people became the first executive board of this organization in 1998. Jose Pasillas - Maria Pasillas - Israel Castillo - Apolinar Gonzalez Jr. - Elida Ortiz	Northern Illinois Tejano Cultural Society was formed to promote and preserve the language, culture, traditions, and family values of a group of Americans with a strong work ethic who have seemingly been left out of North American historyIt is the intent of this organization to leave a legacy of positive contributions of descendants of Southwest Mexicans void of negative stereotypes to our future leaders, our outh.Furthermore, we see it as our responsibility to help our youth, regardless of race, color or religion, to stay motivated and continue their education by helping them with scholarships and other monetary contributions.Helping families and individuals in time of need is also our obligation, one that we take proudly.
Executive Board Members	Board Members
President - David Barbosa Vice President - Apolinar Gonzalez Jr. Treasurer - Mario Ordaz Secretary - Teresa Gonzalez Sergeant at Arms - Martin Galicia	Communications - Joel Castillo Trustee - Mercy Galicia Scholarship - Dalia Ybarra Fundraising - Raul Barbosa Counsel / CPA - Bruce Brown

2005-2006 NITCS Scholarship Recipients

Recipient's Photo	Recipient's Name
	Angelina Nicole Escareño Angelina graduated from East Aurora High School. She will be attending Waubonsee Community College for Nursing. Angelina's long-term plans are to become a pediatrician and to give back to the community
	Monica Saldana Monica graduated from East Aurora High School as class president. She will be attending Texas Tech University for architecture. Afterwards, Monica plans to achieve an MBA in business in determination of owning a firm.
	David De Leon David graduated from Aurora Central Catholic in 2005. He will be attending Waubonsee Community College in the Fall. David plans on seeking a business degree at Western Illinois. David cannot attend tonight's ceremony because of prior commitments, and he'd like to thank NITCS for the scholarship.
	Isaias Martinez Isaias graduated from West Aurora High School in 2003, and he is currently attending Westwood College. Isaias is seeking a degree in Graphic Game Art Design. He is the first in his family to attend college.
	Adam Zepeda Adam graduated from East Aurora High School, and he's currently attending the Junior College at Western Illinois University. Adam is majoring in Business Administration. His long-term goal is to achieve a master's degree in business, and he'd like to own his own business.

THE NITCS SCHOLARSHIP FUND

The Northern Illinois Tejano Cultural Society considers education a priority and strives to provide scholarships to qualified students attending colleges and universities. NITCS, in partnership with local businesses, awards scholarships to students in our communities.

TERMS: NITCS will award scholarships to qualified students who are enrolled or are planning to enroll in accredited colleges or universities in the United States. Awards are disbursed in two equal payments on August 15 and January 15. Scholarships may be used for payment of tuition, academic fees, room, board, and the purchase of required educational materials & books.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: Applicants must meet the following criteria to be considered for a scholarship:
> Must be a US citizen or legal resident
> Must have applied to or be enrolled in a college, university, or graduate school, including 2-year colleges, excluding vocational schools
> A student will not be eligible for a scholarship if he/she is related to a scholarship committee member, the President, or an individual contributor to the funds of the NITCS.

AWARD CRITERIA: APPLICANTS are eligible for the following two types of scholarship awards:

HONORS AWARDS ($250 to $1,000)
Criteria for Entering Freshmen:
>Student must be enrolled full-time in a college or university and have a GPA of 3.25 or better on a 4.0 scale or equivalent.
>Also an entering freshman must have scored 20 or higher on the ACT test or 840 or higher on the SAT test.
Criteria for currently enrolled college students:
>Student must be enrolled full-time in a college or university during both scholarship disbursement periods and have a GPA of 3.25 or better on a 4.0 scale or equivalent.

GENERAL AWARDS ($250 to $1,000)
Grades and academic performance will serve as indicators of potential; emphasis may be placed on the individual's motivation, sincerity, and integrity, which can best be revealed through a personal interview and in the personal essay. Need, community involvement, and leadership activities will also be considered. This award is available to college, university or graduate students attending classes full-time.

APPLICATION PROCESS: Students interested in applying for a NITCS scholarship must request a scholarship application from their school counselor or a NITCS Board Member.
Applicants must submit the following in order to be considered: Ÿ completed and signed application Ÿ verification of admittance or enrollment from the institution the student is attending or planning to attend (i.e. letter of acceptance from a college or university, letter from the registrar or transcript) Ÿ typed or neatly printed personal essay of not more than 300 words.

For consideration of an Honors award, student must also submit:
> High school or college transcripts with most recent GPA
> Entering Freshmen must send a copy of their ACT or SAT score report.

The completed application must be mailed by April 20th. Incomplete applications will not be considered for a scholarship. The NITCS may require additional information and/or a personal interview.

TIME SCHEDULE:
April 20: Application due to NITCS
May 20: Applicants notified of scholarship award
August 15: First scholarship disbursement
January 15: Second scholarship disbursement

Mail Application to:
Northern Illinois Tejano Cultural Society
P. O. Box 5824, Aurora, IL 60507
or submit application via the form below. Additional required forms and letters must be mailed to above address.

PERSONAL ESSAY:
Typed or neatly printed personal essay of not more than 300 words.
It must be in a word document format (.doc).
Please e-mail or mail essay describing the personal and
career goals your studies are leading to in the space below.

Applicants must submit the following in order to be considered:
Ÿ Completed and signed or internet submitted application
Ÿ Verification of admittance or enrollment from the institution the student is attending or planning to attend
(i.e. letter of acceptance from a college or university, letter from the registrar or transcript)

*When submitting your application and essay you agree to the below statement.
"I certify that all of the information included in this application is true and complete and that I am not related to a member of the Scholarship Committee or the President of the Northern Illinois Tejano Cultural Society. "

To qualify for your candidacy for a Scholarship, please let the NITCS know about your personal goals, and how you plan on achieving those goals. Please give one example of how you have already implemented one of your goals to succeed in life. ( Must be at least 500 words ). Please email your essay in an email or as an attachment (.doc file) to info@nitcs.org

Full name:
Address:
City, State, Zip:
Phone + (area):
Date of Birth:
Email address:

Parent/Guardian Name :
Address:
City, State, Zip:
Phone + (area):
Email address:

High School:
Date of Graduation:
GPA / Scale:
College:
Major:
GPA / Scale:

NorthernIllinois
TEJANO CULTURAL SOCIETY

**Just complete this application. Click on *Submit when ready to send.**

Full name:

Email address:

PARENTS INFORMATION:

Parent/Guardian Name :

Email address:

ACADEMIC DATA

High School:

GPA / Scale:

Current Standing (as of date of application):

Act Score:
SAT Score:
Class Rank & Class Size:

List honors, awards, extracurricular activities and community involvement:

Financial Data:

Annual Family Income: $ # Dependents:
No. Dependents in College:
College Expenses for year of application: $
Tuition: $ Room/Board: $ Other: $

Money available for college expenses:
Parents $ Work $
Savings $ Other $

Have you applied for student financial aid already aid?
Yes
No
Please list amount of financial aid already secured: $

Additional Comments?

NorthernIllinois TEJANO CULTURAL SOCIETY

Just complete this application. Click on *Submit when ready to send.

Full name:

Email address:

PARENTS INFORMATION:

Parent/Guardian Name :

Email address:

ACADEMIC DATA

High School:

GPA / Scale:

Current Standing (as of date of application):

Act Score: SAT Score: Class Rank & Class Size:

List honors, awards, extracurricular activities and community involvement:

Financial Data:

Annual Family Income: $ # Dependents: No. Dependents in College: College Expenses for year of application: $ Tuition: $ Room/Board: $ Other: $

Money available for college expenses: Parents $ Work $ Savings $ Other $

Have you applied for student financial aid already aid? Yes No Please list amount of financial aid already secured: $

Additional Comments?

NorthernIllinois
TEJANO CULTURAL SOCIETY

**Just complete this application. Click on *Submit when ready to send.**

Act Score:
SAT Score:
Class Rank & Class Size:

Annual Family Income: $ # Dependents:
No. Dependents in College:
College Expenses for year of application: $
Tuition: $ Room/Board: $ Other: $

Money available for college expenses:
Parents $ Work $
Savings $ Other $

Have you applied for student financial aid already aid?
Yes
No
Please list amount of financial aid already secured: $