Yuma, Arizona - A strong collaboration between the Arizona Western College Foundation and the Consulate of Mexico in Yuma, Arizona continues as the 2018 Memorandum of Understanding is signed with an objective of increasing the educational level of Mexicans or Mexican origin living in the United States through the program “IME-Becas”.

This is a program of the Institute of Mexicans Abroad that seeks to expand educational opportunities for low-income Mexicans and Mexican origin students who are currently enrolled in a degree program at Arizona Western College.

For the execution of this program, the Government of Mexico provides funds to support organizations and educational institutions to leverage resources with education programs for Mexicans interested in continuing their studies. The Mexican government established the IME-Becas Program in 2005. Since then, more than 50,000 students have benefited from the program nationwide.

This Fellowship program seeks to facilitate academic and professional development of Mexicans in the United States, to improve economic development and quality of life in the society where they live, and to link their knowledge to the development of their places of origin in Mexico.

The total resources to grant this year to benefit and contribute the academic development of Mexican migrants and expand opportunities to successfully continue their education and certification of job skills will be of $10,000 USD for the Arizona Western College students.

These funds have been matched and exceeded through generous donations from various leaders, business partners and community organizations including The City of San Luis, The Pete C. Garcia Victoria Foundation, the Arizona Western College Foundation, and AWC Faculty and Staff.    The combination of matched funds for a total of $20,000 USD to award 20 scholarships for the 2018-2019 academic year.