At Molloy, new scholarships to support financial education of young Hispanic women

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In Rockville Centre, Molloy University, Ocean Financial Credit Union and 100 Hispanic Women have launched The 100 Hispanic LI Scholarship program for young Hispanic women across Long Island.

The scholarships will be awarded for the upcoming academic year. The program’s initial $5,000 funding will be divided into three scholarships: two $1,250 undergraduate scholarships and one $2,500 graduate scholarship.

The recipients will be chosen by 100 Hispanic Women, which is a non-profit, non-partisan women’s organization with members from a wide range of industries and interests.

“Everyone needs help getting to college and this collaboration will help fund scholarships and other programs that we will be developing for Hispanic students,” James Lentini, president of Molloy University said in a news release about the new scholarship.

“It is proven that students on scholarships finish their education,” Alicia McGrath, president of 100 Hispanic Women, said in the news release.

“With these scholarships, we are giving members of the Hispanic community the additional advantage of completing their education and getting those necessary credentials to be competitive in this world,” she added.

The three organizations have recently collaborated on several initiatives.

“One of the things that Ocean Financial is focused on is financial literacy,” Joseph Tedesco, president and CEO of Ocean Financial, a credit union with $359 million in assets, said in the release. “We hope to continue to take that initiative to the next level through these educational opportunities.”

In 2023, for example, the credit union – which serves members of the Knights of Columbus in New York State, the Diocese of Rockville Centre, and any Catholic interested in the credit union – pledged $500,000 over a five-year period to Molloy.

The gift – the largest corporate gift Molloy has received – is intended to improve the financial literacy of the university’s students. This includes the sponsorship of the Mentoring Latinas Program at Molloy, which is a program that is specifically designed for Latina students at participating high schools to expose them to university life and engage them in relevant activities, including visits to academic departments, financial workshops, as well as athletic and cultural events.