Friday, March 8, 2024
Jesús Ruiz Villamil, a senior from South Division High School, couldn’t believe it when he got the call during lunch at school as he was on his way to say hi to a teacher. It was the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute calling to tell him he was one of 20 students from across the country to receive a scholarship to the college of his choice.
“This is a big thing for me,” said Jesús, who moved to the United States from Colombia with his parents and grandfather (his grandfather has since returned to Colombia). Jesús began attending South Division High School as a freshman in 2020.
“I’m really thankful. I’m really, really surprised,” Jesús said. He was one of about 1,000 applicants for the 20 scholarships, for $1,000 each.
He and 25 other students in the MPS Black and Latino Male Achievement program traveled to Chicago in mid-February to attend the Hispanic Leadership Institute’s annual national conference, where Jesús was presented with the scholarship at a luncheon and all the students could attend workshops and forums. Students were given the chance to interact with college recruiters, future employers, and policy makers.
Besides South Division, the students were from Milwaukee School of Languages, Marshall High School, Riverside University High School, Bradley Technology and Trade School, and Washington High School.
During the trip to Chicago, the MPS students made campus visits to Loyola University and to the University of Chicago. Thanks to a donor, all the students were able to bring with them suits to wear on their stops in Chicago.
Jesús, who takes dual enrollment classes with Marquette University, received the scholarship application from his BLMA adviser. “He was by my side all the time” to offer guidance in applying for the scholarship, Jesús said.
The senior has been accepted at Marquette and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he said. He also has applied to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and New York University.
Jesús still is exploring his career path. He’s thinking of majoring in political science with a goal of someday becoming a college professor but also is interested in majoring in psychology with a minor in Spanish.
Jesús said he was pleased to win the scholarship for another reason, in addition to the help paying for college. The representation — as a Latino and as an immigrant — is important for other young adults in his shoes to see, he said.