Turning college dreams
into college degrees.

My name is Carlos Cedillo-Silva, and I am studying History with minors in Poverty Studies and Spanish at Washburn University. One of the most difficult experiences in navigating the university system is being first-generation and of Pell grant status. Despite those challenges, I have earned a 4.0 GPA and have various honors in the history poverty and Spanish department respectively. KHEDF impacted me by giving me a network to connect with fellow Hispanics attending college, but the foundation was a huge reason I was able to attend college in the first place.

My name is Alizza Robles, and I am currently studying biology with a premedical concentration at Newman University. Next year I will be a senior and I am currently in the process of studying for the MCAT and applying to medical school. During my time at college, I had to balance two jobs and take 15+ credit hours a semester. Oftentimes I would go 2-3 days without sleep. Managing a college schedule is not easy. Despite my busy schedule, I was able to maintain my 3.83 GPA.

I am proud to say that in addition to balancing my studies and work, I was involved in many leadership activities. Next year I will be the President of HALO a Hispanic leadership organization and I am excited to play a role in bringing the community back together. I would like to bring a voice to minorities on the campus as well as to connect them to the community for opportunities such as this. I believe that as young and future leaders we need to help pave the way for others and empower each other.

With the support of everyone and organizations such as KHEDF, I have made it to where I am today and am so greatly appreciative.

"We believe education is one of the most important aspects of success for a person. We are committed to ensure that our Hispanic youth have every opportunity to pursue a post-secondary education and want to help make a difference in the lives of the student and family, as well as, the community-at-large. It is our responsibility as members of a community to help improve the lives of all its citizens, in doing so we improve our own."