Although Latinos represent 28% of the total population in Silicon Valley, only 3% are in the hi-tech workforce. With 39% of the K-12 student population identified as Latino, we anticipate the challenge to continue to grow. The Latinos in Technology Scholarship (LITS), established by the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley in 2015, is available to college juniors and seniors in good standing who are pursuing a college degree in a STEM-related (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) field.
Goal
This program aim is to provide financial support to Latino students to facilitate college graduation and support a robust pipeline of Latino professionals in STEM. The scholarship provides up to $10,000 in annual financial support for up to three years.
Diversifying the High-Tech Industry
Successful metrics of our program include on-time graduation of all supported students, interest in STEM-related degrees, and successful conversion of hires for a significant percentage of supported students upon completion of their degree.
As of today, our investors include The Hastings Fund, Intel Corporation, Lam Research, Western Digital, Symantec, Silicon Valley Bank, KLA Foundation, Carl & Leslee Guardino, and over 100 individual HFSV donors.
We want the total number of scholars completing summer internships or hired in full-time positions in a tech-related company to be 100%, and we are currently at 63%. We are addressing this by strengthening our partnerships with current LITS funders. Funding is just a piece of the puzzle of this program, and the help of tech companies is necessary to make this program fully successful.