Featured Story

Student wins $5K Hispanic Heritage Scholarship

Wednesday, Sep 28, 2011
Kimberly Allen

Edwin Pérez-Lange

The Hispanic Heritage Scholarship Fund of Metro Orlando has selected a Seminole State College of Florida student to receive a $5,000 scholarship.

As a first-generation college student, Edwin Pérez-Lange, 20, of Deltona, says this achievement is especially meaningful. “I was so happy. I was jumping up and down,” he says. “It feels special. I never thought that something like this was going to happen to me.”

Pérez-Lange is the executive vice president of the College’s Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society chapter, and he works as a math tutor in the Academic Success Center. The scholarship will allow him to further his passion for service and continue his education. He wants to use part of his award to start a project that will help the elderly learn about different technologies and how they can benefit from them.

After graduating from Seminole State, Pérez-Lange plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and then pursue a master’s degree in computer engineering or business.

Out of more than 260 applicants, only 18 were chosen to receive a 2011 Hispanic Heritage Scholarship, including Seminole State alumna Marilyn Mosquera, who also won the award in 2010 and is currently a student at the University of Central Florida.

The scholarship recipients will be honored during the Hispanic Heritage Scholarship Fund’s 12th Annual “Gowns and Guayaberas” gala on Oct. 22 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.

The Hispanic Heritage Scholarship Fund is the largest nonprofit organization in Central Florida dedicated to providing scholarships to Hispanic students who are pursuing a college or university degree.