YOUR SCHOLARSHIP CONTRIBUTION PUTS STUDENTS ON THE 'WRIGHT' PATH TOWARDS THEIR FUTURE

The coronavirus pandemic has left thousands of students and families in need of financial assistance and questioning how to move forward.

In Chicago alone, the health crisis has had a devastating impact on the city disproportionately affecting communities of color. We also know that this crisis has highlighted the net results of income inequality, lack of access to quality healthcare, under-educated populations and under-resourced communities.

Consider a meaningful, impactful, sustainable contribution to the Wright College Scholarship Fund.

The amount of any size will contribute towards a student’s opportunity to achieve their dreams. It will provide hope during a time of economic uncertainty, removing financial barriers from the post-secondary educational journey towards those dreams.Providing scholarship opportunities to students to cover cost of attendance at City Colleges of Chicago will set them on a path to success where they will attain their associates degrees, setting them on a pathway to graduation, a four-year institution, and improved employment opportunities.

The POWER of a scholarship

ARTURO URQUIZA

B.S., Computer Science, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2019
A.G.S., Wilbur Wright College, 2017

In the months approaching graduation in my senior year of high school, I recall the variety of emotions that enveloped my mind on a daily basis. I was feeling positive and proud of my accomplishments as a Lane Tech High School student, while simultaneously battling anxiety over the plausibility of a successful future due to my inability to access financial aid as a DACA recipient. The Star scholarship came into the picture within that time frame, and it changed the way I looked at the opportunities before me. If I could complete my Associate degree at Wright at no cost and transfer to a university with only two years remaining to earn my bachelor’s degree, then earning my bachelor’s degree suddenly became possible.

Wright offered an abundance of opportunities to learn, grow, and have an impact on the people around me. The faculty are dedicated to teaching and provided me with the foundation to succeed academically. I served as a student ambassador in the Gateway Advising & Transfer Center helping new and continuing students find their best fit at Wright, and I was also a tutor in the STEM Emporium. Being a tutor was a great way to master my own math skills while helping others. I developed my leadership skills in my role as president of the Latin American Student Organization (LASO). We discussed strategies to engage college students around civic issues and conducted voter registration campaigns.

As the culmination of my two year journey at Wright neared, I began looking for methods to alleviate the financial burden that the following two years would involve. I applied for TheDream.US scholarship and was awarded $26,000 to attend the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). A weight had been lifted off my shoulders. During this time the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group began a partnership with City Colleges of Chicago to provide graduating STAR scholars in certain majors a $5,000 transfer scholarship to continue their degree at a 4-year institution. I was the recipient of this scholarship as well. In addition, I received a scholarship from the Union League Boys and Girls Clubs. These three scholarships combined allowed me to transfer to UIC and earn my bachelor’s degree tuition free.

During my time at UIC, I continued to apply for internships with the CME Group and was accepted for a year-round internship position as a software engineering intern with WH Trading, a financial derivatives trading firm. This in-depth work experience before graduation from UIC helped to position me, even before earning my degree, to receive an offer and be hired by Capital One as an associate software engineer with a competitive salary.

THE WRIGHT COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP FUND

By City Colleges of Chicago Foundation

THE WRIGHT COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Helping put students on the WRIGHT path towards their future!