McDonald’s 2020 HACER Scholarship: Winners Will Receive Tools To Succeed In A Virtual Learning Environment

McDonald’s loves to give, and during this unprecedented time, the fast-food chain is committed to not only award our Hispanic students with thousands of dollars for their education, but also they will be taking additional action to support the winners of the 2020 HACER National Scholarship.

Due to the pandemic, students are not only fearing for the health of their family members and their own, the financial stress, and the uncertainty around how they will attend school due to social distancing measures is also concerning them. In order to further assist this year’s HACER National Scholarship winners to navigate the pandemic’s impact on education, McDonald’s is equipping each of them with a “tech backpack” that includes a laptop, wireless mouse, and headphones – some of the tools needed to succeed in a virtual learning environment.

For Hispanic students wanting to pursue higher education, finance can be a barrier, however, the pandemic has also exposed a technology access gap that has placed low-income, students at a disadvantage. “We understand that in addition to the financial stress of higher education costs, students today are facing shifts to remote learning, limited access to counselors due to school closures, changes in standardized-testing, and a number of other factors that add to an already stressful college application process,” said Santiago Negre, HACER scholarship committee judge and head of McDonald’s National Hispanic Consumer Market Committee. “We are proud to support Hispanic youth in fulfilling their dreams of obtaining a higher education by providing them with scholarships and some of the essential tools they need to succeed in an evolving virtual education environment.”

As of this writing, the McDonald’s HACER National Scholarship has awarded more than $31.5 million in scholarships and helped 17,060 students since its founding in 1985. The McDonald’s HACER National Scholarship is one of the largest programs committed to college scholarships and resources for Hispanics, awarding a total of $500,000 to 30 outstanding Hispanic high school seniors annually.

The HACER scholarship winners are selected based on their academic achievement, community involvement, and financial need. The rigorous selection process includes a completed application, a personal questionnaire, and interviews with a distinguished panel of judges representing academia, business, media, and McDonald’s.

Hispanic college-bound high school seniors and their parents are encouraged to visit here for additional college resources in English and Spanish and for details on how to apply for the McDonald’s HACER National Scholarship. The scholarship application period opens on October 5, 2020, and runs through February 5, 2021.

Below find the list of 2020 HACER National Scholarship recipients. Join us in celebrating this year’s winners:

Aisha Borjas from Edinburgh, TX, attending Texas State University-San Marcos

Andrea Martinez from Newark, TX, attending Texas Woman's University

Andres Rovalo Herrera from Bainbridge Island, WA, attending Western Washington University

Brian Garcia Sandoval from Kansas City, KS, attending Kansas State University

Cameron Cunningham from Brookshire, TX, attending Texas A&M University

Carla Cano from Dallas, TX, attending University of Dallas

Connor Tapia from Tea, SD, attending Dakota Wesleyan University

Donna Avina from Los Angeles, CA, attending California State University-Los Angeles

Emily Causey from New Athens, IL, attending Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Erick Soto from Fayetteville, AR, attending University of Central Arkansas

Fabiana Perez from Houston, TX, attending Syracuse University

Gabriella Melo from Miami, FL, attending Nova Southeastern University

Ivan Villanueva from Hayward, CA, attending Boston University

Jonathan Gunthrope from New Rochelle, NY, attending Howard University

Jorge Servin from Dallas, TX, attending the University of Texas at Austin

Karime Melendez from Dallas, TX, attending New York University

Madison Fonseca from Orland, CA, attending William Jessup University

Matthew Lawson from Rego Park, NY, attending Pennsylvania State University

Natalia Torres from Miami, FL, attending New York Institute of Technology

Natalie Ortiz from Duncanville, TX, attending Texas A&M University

Nia Ruiz from Tampa, FL, attending Florida Atlantic University

Nicole Pereira from Grayson, GA, attending Tulane University of Louisiana

Rachel Gomez from Mishawaka, IN, attending Holy Cross College

Sergio Orozco from Del Valle, TX, attending University of Texas at San Antonio

Sophia Pieschacon from Sunrise, FL, attending University of Florida

Stephanie Martinez from Pasadena, TX, attending Lamar University

Valeria Soto from New York City, NY, attending Saint Leo University

Viviana Vaca-Gonzalez from Atlanta, GA, attending Brenau University

Vladimir Rosales from Santa Maria, CA, attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Yoselin Herrera Uribe from Las Vegas, NV, attending University of Nevada-Las Vegas