Westchester Community College, State University of New York

PepsiCo Foundation and WCC Partnership: Education Is What I Like

PepsiCo Foundation has selected Westchester Community College as only one of three community colleges in the U.S. to offer an exciting scholarship opportunity for Black and Hispanic WCC students transferring to a four-year college or university to pursue a Bachelor’s degree, with preference given to students in Business or STEM fields.

The Challenge:

• Black and Hispanic students are 50% less likely to earn a bachelors degree in a STEM field than are White students.
• Black and Hispanic representation in STEM fields is 50% lower than the overall rates of US working professionals.
• African Americans accounted for just 3% of executive and senior-level positions within private industry

The Opportunity:

PepsiCo Foundation is supporting two scholarship programs to address the problem of minority underrepresentation in high-demand fields. The S.M.I.L.E. Scholarship (Success Matters in Life & Education) targets Black and Hispanic students pursuing a Bachelor’s degree, with preference given to students in Business or STEM fields.

PepsiCo Foundation S.M.I.L.E.

Success Matters In Life and Education

• For Black and Hispanic students pursuing a Bachelor’s degree, with preference given to students pursuing one of eligible STEM or business majors at their transfer college (see list below)
• Ten WCC students will receive a transfer award of $25,000 per year ($50,000 total per student)
• 2.75 GPA or higher required
• Must plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited four-year college or university in the U.S. for the entire upcoming academic year

The PepsiCo Foundation S.M.I.L.E. (Success Matters in Life & Education) Scholarship is designed to help students transition from designated partner community colleges to four-year colleges and universities. This program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarship, tuition assistance and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Awards are granted without regard to creed, religion, sexual orientation, age, gender, disability, or national origin.

2022 S.M.I.L.E. Scholarship Recipients and Their Transfer School

• Abigail Adane – Pace University
• Charlotte Ba – CUNY Lehman
• Eduardo Delgado – Boston Architectural College
• Aaron Howard Dunbar – University of Connecticut
• Ashley Gomez – Mercy College
• Daneka Green-Clarke – Mercy College
• Stacy Pessoa – Pace University
• Robert Philip – New York Institute of Technology
• Christian Sarmiento – Marist College
• Oscar Monroy Soto – New England Institute of Technology