Kansas State University

Scholarship opportunity: ALIANZA and Benson Scholarships for undergraduate students

Submitted by Lizbeth Alcantara

ALIANZA, the K-State Faculty and Staff Alliance for Hispanic/Latino Affairs, invites applications for two scholarship awards for undergraduate students: the Professor Douglas K. Benson Scholarship for $500 and the ALIANZA Scholarship for $250. 

Faculty and staff are encouraged to share this information with students. Only one application is needed for the two scholarships.

The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Thursday, April 20. Eligible candidates are currently enrolled full-time students with a 2.5 GPA or higher. The scholarship recipient must attend K-State as an undergraduate student during the 2022-2023 academic year.

With this scholarship, ALIANZA honors Douglas Benson, professor emeritus in the department of modern languages, for his tireless advocacy on diversity issues at K-State and beyond and for his continuous activism on behalf of Latino culture and heritage.

One of the scholarships is funded by a generous personal donation from Benson. The other one is funded by membership contributions of ALIANZA members. 

Read a PDF biography of Douglas K. Benson.

Required application materials include:

• A resume that includes personal contact information, including K-State email address; degree pursued, including major, minors, cumulative GPA and year in school; scholarships and awards received; activities; and work experience. Resume help is available at k-state.edu/ces/students/.
• An essay describing the student's appreciation for Latinx culture in a global world — language, literature, cultural productions, including photographs, movies, drawings, etc. The essay should be between 250 and 500 words, about 1-2 pages double-spaced and typed.
• Please submit your complete application — including both resume and essay — as one single PDF file via the Qualtrics link.

If you have any questions, please contact Lizbeth Alcantara at lizbeth@k-state.edu. By submitting this application, students allow us to verify their academic standing at Kansas State University. The recipients of both scholarships will be notified via email by May 3.