Before the La Unidad Latina Foundation came to fruition, it started out the way most success stories do: as an idea on how to help Latinos pay for college.
Not even Erik Paulino, who is the founder of the LUL Foundation, could have envisioned the success it would have since he pitched the idea to his fraternity brothers in 1999. Over the past two decades, the non-profit has doled out roughly $500,000 in scholarships. It has also helped students gain access to colleges, internships and career paths. All while positively influencing thousands of students as well.
“I’ve kept an eye on how it’s progressed, but I never thought it’d become this,” said Paulino, who was the foundation’s chairman until 2014. He was honored for his work on Wednesday Sept. 18, 2019 at the foundation’s fundraising event in Manhattan.
Before La Unidad Latina Foundation even existed there was an idea. It stemmed from a conversation that started on Cornell University’s campus in 1981. It’s when a group of Latino students who felt they lacked a sense of community decided to form one of their own. La Unidad Latina, a fraternity for Latino students, registered as a club, and officially became a fraternity in February 1982. It’s been known as La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc. since and has grown into a national organization with 85 chapters.
Paulino, who joined the fraternity at the University of Pennsylvania, took it a step further with the LUL Foundation. Its mission is to create a community of socially conscious college-graduates dedicated to the advancement of the Latino community nationwide. However, he stresses anyone who is in need is welcome.
The La Unidad Latina Foundation Scholarship is a national scholarship open to all United States residents, including DREAMers and recent immigrants. Students are eligible if they are applying to four-year colleges and universities as well as graduate programs and have a 2.8 GPA or higher.
“We wanted it to be well rounded, not just about academic standing. What was your need, but also, what was your commitment to your community?” said Paulino.
While college preparation isn’t easy for anyone, Latino students face unique challenges. Many come from immigrant families where cultural and language barriers can impede college readiness. Current chairman Julio Casadao said that part of the Foundation’s goal is to “break silos for students.” LUL Foundation estimates that roughly 74% of Latino students cut short their college education due to financial pressures.
Paulino is proud of the programs’ growth which started as just scholarships for undergraduate students. Now, the program has expanded to graduating high school seniors and graduate students which has widened its reach. The goal, Paulino said, was always to help.
“We welcomed DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) students before DACA was even a term,” Paulino explained. “The beginning was a struggle. But raising money wasn’t our singular goal…the point was trying to make this movement a reality.”
Casadao estimates that the organization has given out 20-30 scholarships a year since it started, but it is going beyond just financial assistance. “Y Tu Tambien” is a high school program that was started in 2014 and has increased access to higher education for Latinos, first-generation students, minorities, and students in need by providing free college application workshops, mentorship and access to networking events.
Miguel Vivar, a student at The Bronx High School of Science, touted “Y Tu Tambien” for giving him, “an opportunity to be a part of a Latino group where students from different schools come together and we talk about the whole college application,” he said. “It’s given me more confidence in moving forward.” The program launched in 2015 with 20 students. It currently mentors 120 students. It has even come to include visits to schools in the New York City area where the foundation is based.
“The LUL foundation is does something magical,” said Jonathan Jaramillo, a Brown University alumni who received a foundation scholarship in 2017. “I think what’s most important is the support system that you get with it.” He found the support crucial as a first-generation student at an Ivy League.
It’s part of the foundation’s targeted expansion. Thanks to partnerships with corporate sponsors they now also host career workshops, internships, and in some cases jobs for their students. The career-path driven thinking is part of the strategy for growth.
“What we’re trying to do is create a pipeline of success for young Latino students to receive the support they need in college, whether it be financial or career support, and then re-engage them post college to serve as the next generation of mentors,” said Casado.
We asked what he thought what LUL Foundation’s greatest achievement to date. Casado credits the people that support the foundation’s mission. “All of our support comes from individuals. We don’t have corporate backers,” he said. “(For) an organization that doesn’t have that and has been able to do this work for so long that within itself is a success story.”