KGI Receives Third Year of IME-Becas Scholarship Funding

For the third consecutive year, the IME-Becas Scholarship Program has awarded a grant to Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) providing financial assistance to students who are either from Mexico or of Mexican heritage. These scholarship funds totaling $15,000 are available to students in any of four KGI programs: the Master of Business and Science (MBS), Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD), Master of Engineering (MEng), and Postbaccalaureate Premedical Certificate (PPC).

KGI is one of ten higher education institutions in the Los Angeles area whose students are receiving support from the program, which is operated by the Institute for Mexicans Abroad and funded by the Mexican government and private donors. The IME-Becas Scholarship Program was created in 2005 to help raise the educational levels of the Mexican and Mexican-American populations and later expanded its mission to enable these students to study at U.S. colleges and universities.

“It is extremely important to create more opportunities and scholarship programs that support the most vulnerable students,” said Carlos Garcia de Alba, Mexico’s Consul General in Los Angeles. “This help certainly makes a difference in their academic and professional future and allows them to think of ways to pay back by helping others like them advance within their communities.”

Manuel Ochoa, MBS ’16, is among the KGI students to receive a scholarship. Now a project and portfolio analyst for Roche Molecular Systems, Inc., Ochoa said, “IME-Becas was an unexpected surprise that made me feel supported by both the educational and governmental authorities that represent Mexico in the United States. I am sure the program will continue to benefit many other Mexican students who seek to further their careers with the holistic vision of the life sciences industry that can only be experienced at KGI.”

Since 2014, the IME-Becas Scholarship Program has provided KGI with $60,000 in funding. More than a dozen KGI students benefited from scholarships over the first two years, and eligibility has since expanded to include those enrolled in the MEng program.

“We appreciate this external support for graduate students in the United States. It helps us recruit and retain students, and it helps them realize their dreams,” said KGI Dean of Student Engagement and Enrollment Services Sofia Toro.

Noting that life sciences and biotechnology are global industries, Toro added, “There is a tremendous need in the industry to have a global perspective, which makes it important for us to diversify our student population. It’s great to have students from Mexico here who will go into the life sciences and biotechnology. They gain a lot of professional development opportunities and industry exposure, and all of our students benefit from their being at KGI. It’s a two-way street.”