Our Mission Statement
This social media project intends to bring awareness to the impact of heritage languages in the lives of current and former SUNY Oneonta students. Derived from the publication "Mi vida en los Estados Unidos" (2015), this project presents and explores digital media messages about the importance of maintaining one's heritage culture and language that adds to the value of diversity in the United States. By giving a voice to Oneonta students, ethnically and racially diverse, this creative open pedagogy project aims to educate about the impact of the bilingual-bicultural unbringing experiences that motivates 2nd-generation immigrants to succeed professionally and become educated. The blog's goal is to collect funds for Oneonta students of any heritage language seeking to recover their ancestor's language and obtain higher education.
- The Heritage Languages Scholarship was established with the purposes of motivating SUNY Oneonta students to preserve or recover their heritages’ languages.
- The Scholarship was built off of sale proceeds from Dr. Maria Cristina Montoya’s published book, “Mi vida en los Estados Unidos“, which was written in collaboration with students from her Spanish for Bilinguals course.
- The non-endowed scholarship fund was created through the vision and charitable support of Professor Montoya and SUNY Oneonta faculty and friends of the college to be awarded to students studying languages other than English.
- The Heritage Language scholarship will provide incentives and support to students who plan to broaden their understanding and appreciation of various cultures, along with improving their linguistic skill and increasing workplace competition.
- The scholarship is awarded to students who are seeking to recover or improve fluency in their heritage language, a minority language that has been passed to the individual by their ancestors.
“Growing the number of scholarship opportunities available to our students is one of our top priorities”.
Paul Adamo, VP for College Advancement & Executive Director of the College Foundation
Heritage Scholarship 2022 Recipient
Erika Rama was the heritage language scholarship’s recipient for the 2022 school year. She is the first woman in her family to access higher education and graduate with a bachelor’s degree that will contribute to her own community. Erika’s parents are Galician immigrants that have encouraged her to maintain their native languages, Spanish and Galician, and use them to inspire others to feel proud of their identity and become educated. Throughout her years at Oneonta, she participated in the Multicultural Community Center tutoring program, first as a tutor for young teens supporting their academic success and teaching Spanish, and later becoming the MCC coordinator, recruiting other college students to do the same community endeavor. Erika has used her heritage bililingualism to embrace her own identity and to inspire the women and girls around her.
Heritage Scholarship 2021 Recipient
Alyssa Carbone was the scholarship’s recipient for the 2021 school year. She graduates with a major in Spanish Adolescence Education in 2022. She shared that this scholarship helped her pay for textbooks and other costs to attend SUNY Oneonta, while also allowing her to put aside money toward law school. Alyssa shared that she is a third-generation Cuban American and decided to pursue Spanish education to reconnect with her roots. She has a desire to teach Spanish or go into immigration law in her future as she knows that she wants to help better people’s lives.
SUNY Oneonta Advancement
The SUNY Oneonta Division of College Advancement helps with various programs that provide students with the economic assistance to thrive through their education and seek greater opportunities through scholarships and grants, including the Heritage Language Scholarship.
Grow, Thrive, Live
Students should be able to grow intelectually, thrive socially, and live purposely. This campaign is based on the goals of recieving donations in order to give more students access to scholarships to aid them in their studies and help them be successful throughout their college careers.
Donate Here
Click the link above to donate to help support SUNY Oneonta students!