For Miami STEM students, new college scholarship fund may help pay for schooling
Spurred by his vision of a technologically-centric Miami, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has teamed up with the Miami Foundation and local universities and tech leaders to fund scholarships for Miami students accepted into a STEM program at one of several South Florida universities.
The Venture Miami scholarship program has raised $4.1 million, with $500,000 from the City of Miami; $2 million, cumulatively, from the University of Miami, Florida International University, Florida Memorial University and Miami Dade College; $1 million from Ken Griffin, CEO of Citadel LLC, the hedge fund that is moving to Miami from Chicago; and around $600,000 from other philanthropists, said Lindsey Linzer, vice president of community investments at the Miami Foundation who is in charge of the new scholarship program.
“We want Miami to be the most technologically inclusive city in the nation. We want everyone to benefit,” said Rebecca Fishman Lipsey, president and CEO of the Miami Foundation.
Students are required to be enrolled in one of the qualifying science, technology, engineering, math or nursing degree programs listed in the scholarship application. The scholarships are open only to recipients of Pell Grants, the federal program that provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduates. The scholarships will fill tuition gaps not covered by FAFSA and other financial aid, ensuring that scholarship recipients will not go into debt to receive a STEM education.
Students who wish to study something not defined by the program as a “high wage/demand occupation,” such as visual art or architecture will not be eligible for the scholarship. The new partnership is focused on funding technology-related jobs to boost Miami’s economy, she noted.
“If we are to have a technological boom in Miami, everyone has to benefit,” said Fishman Lipsey, who began her career as a public school teacher in Harlem. It was there she says she saw many talented people for whom access and opportunity limited their potential.
Suarez, Fishman Lipsey, local university presidents and Miami business leaders recently gathered at Miami City Hall in Coconut Grove to celebrate the launch of the scholarship fund.
The $1 million pledge by Griffin, the Citadel CEO, is an incentive for business leaders to match his promise, said Julia Quinn, Citadel’s deputy director of philanthropy who also manages Griffin’s personal philanthropy. “We hope this money will unlock opportunities for Miami residents who are students of today, and leaders tomorrow,” she said.
READ MORE: Billionaire Ken Griffin moving his Citadel investment firm to Miami from Chicago
Students will be able to apply for and receive funds for the new Venture Miami Scholarship for the spring semester of the 2022-2023 school year. The deadline for submitting an online application is 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 9, 2023.
The mayor mentioned the importance of teaching students about blockchain technology so they are prepared to work in what he sees as an emerging digital world.
Additionally, local colleges are creating more tech programs. Miami Dade College, for one, recently opened an Artificial Intelligence Center for tech education.
READ MORE: Miami Dade College opens $6.5 million Artificial Intelligence Center for tech education
Nicole Muniz, CEO of Yuga Labs, the parent company of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, an NFT collection and online community, was at the launch. She said supporting educational initiatives at the intersection of arts and technology aligns with the vision of the club, which is hosted on the Ethereum blockchain.
Suarez is an avid supporter of blockchain technologies and NFTs. An NFT is a non-fungible token, or digital asset, that links ownership to art, real estate, music, etc.
“I am clapping for the thousands of lives we are going to change,” said Suarez, who spoke first in English, and then in Spanish at the launch. “There is nothing more empowering in a young person’s life than an education.”
The mayor said people often ask him if Miami will be ready to fill the technology jobs that are expected to open up in the coming decades. A Miami-Dade County report earlier this year showed STEM-based occupations jumped 12 percent between 2015 and 2020 in the Miami metropolitan area, which includes Palm Beach County.
READ MORE: Miami tech has the buzz, but does it have the jobs? We’ve got the data
Suarez said the answer is yes — and that the scholarships aim to fill high-paying tech jobs with Miami’s diverse talent. His long-term goal is to have a $15 million-$20 million endowed fund so all students in Miami can get a free STEM education.
“This is our spiritual fuel,” he said. “This is what drives us; this is what changes lives.”
How to Apply
The deadline to apply for a scholarship with the Venture Miami Scholarship Fund is 5 p.m. Jan. 9, 2023. For more information on the scholarship application, go to miamifoundation.org or click here,
