High school students interested in pursuing a career in government or want to gain leadership skills will be meeting this year for a competitive and transformative experience.
Walmart and the National Hispanic Institute (NHI) are partnering to provide tuition scholarships for students to attend a 2022 Lorenzo de Zavala (LDZ) Youth program.
The program will host 200 top academic students in a weeklong leadership experience on the campus of Austin College in Sherman, Texas, from July 10 through July 17, 2022.
A select number of high school students from Texas and Oklahoma will be chosen to receive the tuition scholarships.
The eight-day youth program uses a format in which participants declare candidacies and run for offices in executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.
They also work to propose and enact legislation while developing personal and community identity through a series of exercises that culminate in the three-day legislative session.
Current Texas and Oklahoma college-bound high school sophomores and juniors who have an 88/100 or 3.2/4.0 grade point average are encouraged to apply.
Walmart will award $20,000 in tuition support. A total of $10,000 will be for Texas students and the remaining $10,000 will be for Oklahoma students.
The LDZ program launched in 1983 and is designed to inspire civic engagement and develop public policy skills.
“The LDZ experience prompts a personal transformation whereby students feel competent, in control of their life direction, valued in the eyes of others and engaged in adding equity and worth to their community,” NHI co-founder and architect of the LDZ experience Gloria de Leon said. “It nurtures young minds to engage in proactive solutions as a lifelong process.”
NHI is a nonprofit organization that provides leadership education to top-performing Latino high school students across the United States and throughout the Americas.
According to a press release, through NHI’s signature community equity building approach, students form communities, develop constituencies and craft strategies to leverage strengths and capacities.
Ivan Jaime, director of state and local government relations for Walmart in Oklahoma and Texas, said the company is excited to sponsor this important program.
“The work that NHI is doing is going to develop future Latino leaders,” Jaime said. “As an alum, I can tell you first hand that the LDZ program has an established track record of engaging high school students and inspiring them toward greater civic engagement, and we want to enable students to experience this transformative program through this scholarship fund.”
Scholarships will be awarded to support a portion of the LDZ program’s tuition cost, which is $995 for the full week. This will include meals, housing and tuition.
According to the press release, a special committee of NHI alumni and community members in Oklahoma are working on additional fundraising if students need assistance with the balance and transportation arrangements.
Students who cannot attend this program due to conflicts in dates may apply to alternate LDZ sites as well, and depending on funding, may be considered for this award.
The first round of admissions will be accepted beginning Feb. 4, 2022, and will conclude once the program has reached capacity in mid-March.
Students are encouraged to promptly submit their online application to the National Hispanic Institute at www.nationalhispanicinstitute.org/ldz.
According to the press release, students must apply with a $25 application fee for consideration.
