The John S. Martinez Leadership Scholarship
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION & CRITERIA/ELIGIBILITY RULES

The National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL) is a national association of Hispanic state legislators working to design and implement policies and procedures that will impact the quality of life for Hispanic communities throughout the country. Headquartered in Washington, DC, NHCSL was founded in 1989 as a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c) 3 organization. The mission of NHCSL is to be the most effective voice for more than 300 Hispanic legislators from all states, commonwealths, and territories of the United States. NHCSL actively promotes partnerships that yield positive results for the Hispanic community and serves as a catalyst for joint action on issues such as housing, health, education, economic development, broadband and immigration.

To ensure that Hispanic students achieve educational success, NHCSL implemented the John S. Martinez Leadership Scholarship. The late John S. Martinez served as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1997-2002. During his tenure, Representative Martinez was a trailblazer in the Connecticut State legislature, initiating local legislation in education and economic development. He also served as President of the NHCSL from 2001 until his untimely death in 2002. This scholarship award honors the legacy of Representative Martinez in public service.

This scholarship initiative is a part of NHCSL’s John S. Martinez Scholarship Fund which is designed to close the educational achievement gap of our future Hispanic leaders. The scholarship is made available through a generous grant from the Comcast Foundation. The purpose of the grant is to expand and support NHCSL’s mission in “Closing Achievement Gaps” to create learning opportunities for Hispanic high school students. DEADLINE TO APPLY IS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2012.

The John S. Martinez Leadership Scholarship program is specifically designed to help Hispanic high school students achieve educational success. This program will be implemented within the thirty six (36) states, including territories that have Hispanic state legislators. The scholarship will be awarded to a total of eleven (11) Hispanic public high school students. This effort has been implemented in collaboration with Hispanic state legislators in the states and the schools based in their respective districts. Publicly funded high schools that are located within the district of a NHCSL Hispanic state legislator are eligible to participate.

The Award
Each recipient will be selected by an independent evaluation committee. The scholarship will include a one-time $3,000.00 grant for educational purposes. The scholarship will be awarded upon graduation from high school with a GPA of 3.0 or better.

Criteria & Eligibility Rules
To be eligible for the NHCSL John S. Martinez Leadership Scholarship, each student must meet all of the following criteria:

• The student must be Hispanic or of Hispanic descent
  
• The student must have a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better
  
• The student must be a U.S. Citizen or Legal Resident (proof required)
  
• The student must be a junior or senior who is enrolled full-time at a public high school in the District of a Hispanic State Legislator.
  
• The student must be nominated by their school principal, teacher, guidance counselor or Hispanic state legislator.