Hostos Students to Benefit from Bold New Initiatives Powered by the Ms. MacKenzie Scott’s Gift

Hostos Community College is pleased to announce the 2025-26 Ms. MacKenzie Scott’s Gift: President’s Initiatives Winning Proposals: “See It, Believe It, Achieve It,” “ONLN Peer Assistant Learning Scholars (PALS),” and “Transfer and Career Pathways in LLAC Studies: Establishing a Mentored Student Cohort.”
 
The grantees selected through the Ms. MacKenzie Scott’s Gift 2025 Request for Proposals (RFP) represent creative initiatives that enhance Hostos student and alumni connections to build a stronger pipeline for transfer to Lehman College; are addressing critical areas that will support our students in online learning programs through peer mentorship; and will launch a mentored student cohort in Latinx, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies (LLAC) to provide a clear pathway to career development and transfer opportunities in ethnic studies. The new initiatives will be implemented over the 2025-26 academic year.
 
“I am delighted to congratulate the grantees for their commitment and dedication to fostering student success through innovative projects that will promote peer mentorship, foster student belonging, and enhance transfer opportunities,” shared Sofia Oviedo, Research Programs Director. “I look forward to seeing the development and impact of these new initiatives and integrating these efforts in our collective work to advance the Hostos mission.”
 
The “See It, Believe It, Achieve It” initiative, led by Samantha Maldonado Garcia and Rocio Rayo from the Transfer Services Office, aims to empower Hostos students for successful transfer to Lehman College by connecting them with alumni. Through brunches, campus tours, and tangible support like stipends and MetroCards, the program fosters confidence, builds networks, and promotes a culture of ambition and student success, strengthening the Hostos-Lehman pipeline.
“I'm deeply honored that ‘See It, Believe It, Achieve It’ was chosen,” shared Maldonado Garcia. “This is more than a program, it's a promise. When students see themselves in the success of others, they begin to believe in their own potential. And belief is the first step toward achievement. I can't wait to help turn possibility into reality.”
 
Professor Tram Nguyen, English Department, and IVP and Provost Andrea Fabrizio, Office of Academic Affairs, are project leads on the new initiative “ONLN Peer Assistant Learning Scholars (PALS).” Designed to support students in the fully Online Degree Programs (ONLN), the PALS initiative will employ two peer mentors to outreach to students, providing information on resources and academic skills, and use a Learning Mindsets framework. PALS will also offer an ONLN Mindset Orientation, Friday Virtual Socials, and Online Writing Labs tailored for online students.
 
“We're so enthused that the President's Initiative grant is funding this community-affirming project for students in the Online Degree Programs,” expressed Professor Nguyen. “We have seen the success of peer-to-peer education across the College and believe that ONLN PALS will promote a strong college identity for students on their college journey largely remotely.”
 
The “Transfer and Career Pathways in LLAC Studies” initiative, led by Professors Inmaculada Lara-Bonilla and Emmanuel Velayos Larrabure, Humanities Department, aims to create a mentored Transfer Student Cohort in Latina/o/x, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies (LLAC). It will involve recruitment, teaching, mentoring, and retention activities to help students complete a Liberal Arts degree with an Option in LLAC Studies and facilitate their transfer to four-year institutions. In the Spring of 2026, students will participate in a seminar-style experience focused on research, career exploration, cultural and community engagement, and transfer preparation including visits to four-year institutions.
“We are excited to relaunch our Transfer Cohort Program this year,” shared Professors Lara-Bonilla and Larrabure in a joint statement. “Thanks to this grant, we will be able to support a number of students enrolled in Latina/o/x, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies through teaching, dedicated mentoring, and retention and transfer activities at Hostos Community College. We hope to expand the College’s capacity to offer students a clear, coherent academic pathway as they pursue a Liberal Arts degree and transfer seamlessly to a four-year institution.”
 
With the support of Ms. MacKenzie Scott’s Gift, these new initiatives will make important contributions to promote student retention and build stronger transfer connections to advance students’ academic goals.
 
The Ms. MacKenzie Scott’s Gift: President’s Initiatives for Student Success, College Growth, and Stakeholders’ Engagement is a college-wide effort established in 2022 with the generous support of the largest donation ever made to Hostos. The extraordinary $15 million gift made by philanthropist and author Ms. MacKenzie Scott provided the seed funding for the development of pilot initiatives designed to support and align with the College’s mission and Strategic Plan for the advancement of institutional priorities.
 
The initiatives have been guided by the vision and leadership of Hostos President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, and the members of the Hostos Advisory Corps, a multi-disciplinary committee of Hostos staff, faculty, alumni, and student representatives who have been integrally involved in the planning and development of the initiatives. Collectively, the President’s Initiatives have increased student engagement and retention through initiatives such as Families United in Education (FUiE), that supports family members enrolled at Hostos, and the MacKenzie Scott Adult and Continuing Education (ACE) scholarship, which has strengthened the connection between Hostos degree and continuing education programs. Mentor/Mentee Jobs on Campus provides financial stability, mentorship support, and valuable work experience that builds students’ career readiness skills. The Hostos Research Center (HRC) serves as a research and grants development hub that is advancing knowledge and research innovation across multiple disciplines, fostering faculty to student mentorship, and increasing access to hands-on research opportunities for Hostos students. The Ms. MacKenzie Scott’s Gift: President’s Initiatives have also garnered new funding that has expanded key initiatives that support transfer and career pathways in the sectors of public health, engineering, and arts administration, and provided sustainability for our on-campus employment and student research programs.
 
Building on the initial cohort of pilot initiatives, the Ms. MacKenzie Scott’s Gift Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued in Fall 2022, and again in Spring 2025, to identify new initiatives that address student needs and would advance our institutional goals for supporting student success and promoting college innovation.
 
The Hostos Student Symposium and Hostos Language Lab were funded through that first RFP and have continued to receive support through the MacKenzie Scott Gift. The 2025 RFP provided another invitation to the Hostos community to submit proposals for new initiatives that would address the key focus areas of our student-centered mission in the areas of enrollment, retention, graduation, and transfer opportunities to advance students’ career development and socio-economic mobility.
 
Through this new RFP, the President and Hostos Advisory Corps were looking for new and creative ideas for initiatives that could be supported with grants of up to $10,000 for one academic year, which could demonstrate positive impacts on student outcomes, and potentially attract the engagement of new funders and community partners. With a total of $24,877 awarded in grants through the 2025 RFP, the Ms. MacKenzie Scott’s Gift: President’s Initiatives can continue to maximize its impact and build on the nurturing and supportive learning community at Hostos to empower our students to achieve their academic and career goals. 
 
Congratulations to all the 2025-26 grantees!