Hispanic Scholarship Fund to Create Career Pathways Initiative

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) has been awarded $30.7 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. for the creation of the Hispanic Career Pathways Initiative (HCPI), a comprehensive program to help Hispanic students navigate each step of their path from college to career. 

This six-year grant will help HSF, the nation’s largest nonprofit organization supporting Hispanic American students, provide a continuum of career support programs and services designed to give Hispanic college students the knowledge, networks, and skills needed to find meaningful employment and achieve career success in a knowledge-driven, global economy. To help with HCPI’s long-term sustainability, $5 million of the grant will be allocated to an endowment. This portion of the grant is subject to a matching condition to encourage other funders to contribute to HCPI’s endowment.

Through the grant, HSF will dramatically enhance its existing technology platform and will have the potential to provide direct career services to hundreds of thousands of Hispanic college students nationwide. Set to launch in September 2020, the HCPI will utilize a four-tiered approach to provide career discernment and career development programs to students:

  • HSF University: The HCPI will deliver a comprehensive, self-paced online program that walks students through the essential elements of career preparation and planning. HSF will develop an innovative career pathways curriculum and accompanying digital content that will be available to all interested students.
     
  • Personalized Career Discernment, Guidance, and Support: The HCPI will focus on career discernment and personal career guidance and support. The HCPI technology platform will link students who engage the career pathways curriculum with career coaches and mentors from the HSF Alumni network, the HSF Advisory Council network, and from HSF local, national, and international corporate partners. The corporate partners will participate in an Employer Consortium (EC) and provide opportunities for internships and full-time employment to students who complete the HCPI curriculum.
     
  • Career Connection Days: HCPI Career Connection Days will be held at a select group of university partners in communities with active HSF Alumni and Advisory Councils and a significant HSF Scholar presence. The hands-on training will focus on network building, identifying internships and research opportunities, and raising self-expectations. Students also will learn about professional etiquette, resume-building, interviewing, and other topics aimed at the transition to career or graduate school.
     
  • HCPI Higher Education Partners and Employer Consortium Convening: HSF will host an annual convening of Higher Education Partners and members of the HSF Employer Consortium to examine data gathered from student participation in the HCPI, highlight university best practices that support Hispanic student transition to meaningful careers, and identify any gaps in career pathway programs that need to be addressed. HSF plans to host the first convening in 2020.