The first $5,000 scholarships from Cougar Corporate Partners will be awarded to eligible UH students in August.
Launched by UH, this new corporate program is a way for companies to engage directly with students and provide direct interaction with future employees. The program allows companies to invest in students and funnels one half of donations directly to scholarships. The other half is split between UH’s M.D. Anderson Memorial Library and the University Career Services Center.
“The program gives companies a chance to lead by example, engage with the University on a broad spectrum and directly impact the students,” said UH Assistant Director of Corporate Relations Robin Seth.
CenterPoint Energy, Data Foundry, Marathon Oil and Total have signed on with the program since it began earlier this year. There are four different levels in which companies can participate and receive benefits in exchange for a contribution of $10,000, $30,000, $50,000, or $100,000 a year. The companies’ benefits include an invitation to University events, waived fees for job postings, invitations to present student groups, UH internship career fair, UH Alumni Career Fairs and more, depending on their contribution level.
Bilingual education junior Ana Barnes said she used FAFSA almost every semester in order to pay for her studies, and feels that Cougar Corporate Partners is an excellent program that helps further student’s education. However she does not agree with everything about this program.
“The fact that half of the money is going to the M.D. Anderson Library and the University Career Services Center is simply unfair to the students who will be awarded with this scholarship,” Barnes said. “This is why a percentage of the tuition that we pay annually is given to these facilities to function.”
Mechanical engineering junior Martin Nuñez said he will need to rely on FASFA because he has two brothers that are starting college soon.
“This is a really good program but there should be more scholarships offered by the University because only a handful will be able to benefit from this,” Nuñez said.
Students must have a minimum 3.5 GPA, be a Texas resident, have completed 60 credit hours, be enrolled full time, have financial need and be undergraduates or graduates to qualify.
Psychology junior Candace Macias said that she is not eligible for financial aid and several scholarships because her family does not have financial need.
“My parents are economically blessed but they are not rich. Tuition is high and they have many things to pay for and I can’t even apply for this scholarship because I don’t have ‘financial need,’” Macias said. “There should be more scholarships for students with moderate need.”
