NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Delgado Community College and the PepsiCo Foundation have announced the launch of the Uplift Scholarship program to support Black and Hispanic students pursuing two-year degrees and professional certificate programs. In addition to financial assistance, the program provides students with dedicated success coaches, access to emergency grants, and financial literacy courses.
New and current students can apply for the scholarship, which also includes support for programs that are not currently covered by federal student aid. Scholarship applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and eligible students can apply directly at https://tinyurl.com/32xh3dkt or www.dcc.edu.
“We are thrilled about our partnership with PepsiCo,” said Dr. Larissa Littleton Steib, Delgado chancellor. “This partnership provides scholarships to Black and Hispanic students with the goal of addressing barriers these students have in enrolling, persisting, and graduating from college. The partnership is a gamechanger because it provides eligible students with professional mentoring, tuition assistance, and assistance with living expenses. We are grateful to PepsiCo for choosing Delgado Community College to be part of this initiative.”
There are ten Delgado Community College students now receiving support from the Uplift Scholarship program. They are residents of communities from New Orleans to New Iberia, and they range from traditional college students just out of high school to working mothers in their 40s. More Black and Hispanic students at Delgado will have the opportunity to participate in the program in the months to come.
The program is designed with a holistic approach to promote access to education advancement by addressing the obstacles – retention, completion, and workforce readiness – that disproportionately impact Black and Hispanic students’ educational and professional journeys. The Uplift program aims to guide students to jobs in high-growth industries, including Information Technology, Advanced Manufacturing, Logistics, Sales, and Marketing.
The Uplift Scholarship program is part of the PepsiCo Foundation’s $40 million commitment to address historical barriers that make it challenging for minority students to enroll, persist, and graduate from college – barriers that have widened during the pandemic. The Foundation’s Uplift Scholarship is currently offered at 20 community colleges across the country with the goal of providing 4,000 scholarships over five years.
The PepsiCo Foundation’s Community College Program is a cornerstone effort of PepsiCo’s more than $570 million Racial Equality Journey, a comprehensive initiative to support Black and Hispanic communities, people, and businesses.
