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IT Exec inducted into 2009 Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Hall of Fame
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Oct 1, 2009, 16:48

Edgar Figueroa, executive director of Austin-based Wi-Fi Alliance, was inducted into the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s 2009 Alumni Hall of Fame at the Gala event on September 30 in New York City. 

Figueroa’s story is a study in overcoming personal hardships and using  education as a stepping stone to success.  He arrived in the United States from Guatemala at the age of 14 without a word of English.  In the midst of poverty and family tragedy, he committed himself to his studies and excelled. He was granted a number of scholarships by the Hispanic Scholarship Fund that allowed him to complete his bachelor and masters degrees in engineering.

Figueroa personifies the mission and values of HSF, and he serves as an extremely positive role model for other Latino students.  He is an inspiration to aspiring Latinos everywhere and his success story is testament to the impact of higher education and the tremendous difference it has made in his community and in his life.

In Austin, he was instrumental in establishing the first Hispanic Austin Leadership program in 1999 which has since been adopted by the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and has been replicated around the country. At the University of Texas, he was an instructor and tutor in the Minority in Engineering program. At 3M Company, he founded the “Opportunity Council” a corporate committee established to provide equal opportunity to minorities in business and technology. 

Figueroa is now the executive director of The Wi-Fi Alliance, a non-profit organization with the goal of driving the adoption of a single worldwide-accepted standard for high-speed wireless local area networking – and has created a number of local jobs in his own community.

To see a video about him please visit:
http://homepage.mac.com/maxcurious/filechute/Edgar_Figueroa_FINAL.mov

The HSF Alumni Hall of Fame was created in 2002 to honor Hispanics who demonstrate the power of higher education by highlighting how attaining a college degree can change individual lives and society as a whole for the better.  In its 34 year history, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund has awarded close to $280M in scholarships to more than 90,000 students in need. 

Two-thirds of these students were the first in their families to go to college.  For the 2008-2009 academic year, 4,600 college bound Hispanic students were awarded scholarships worth $28M nationally – there were 971 Texas recipients representing more than $7 million in aid.

HSF scholars are high achievers and they have or are attending close to 2,000 of the nation’s diverse and academically rigorous colleges and universities in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Statistics show that 80% of HSF scholars graduate from college (this rate is 30% higher than the national average for students of all races and nationalities).  For information on how to apply, please visit:
www.hsf.net