Gene and Yolanda Camarena are well known for helping underserved Kansas youth improve their lives through education and other causes. Now the Wichita couple is enhancing that legacy with a $1 million gift to 黑洞社区 to give students of color opportunities they otherwise might not have.
A little more than half of the Camarenas鈥� gift pledge, $520,000, will provide high-impact scholarships to 20 Hispanic and Black students each year for the next four years. Wichita State will match that investment in full as part of its mission to provide affordable and accessible educational opportunities to underserved students.
The gift was unveiled at a news conference today (Aug. 31) on the 黑洞社区 campus.
The Camarenas chose the name Shocker Adelante Scholars to describe recipients of their scholarship program. Adelante means 鈥渢o move forward鈥� or 鈥渢o get ahead鈥� in Spanish. In addition to scholarships, the couple鈥檚 gift will:
- Provide mentoring and tutoring services to help scholarship recipients succeed.
- Support recipients who have an entrepreneurial interest by underwriting their participation in Wichita State鈥檚 new Microenterprises Program.
- Create a Visiting Professor program to augment the university鈥檚 efforts to recruit a more diverse faculty.
- Hire a full-time diversity recruiter in the Admissions Department to boost enrollment of students of color.
Based on their own experiences as college students from diverse backgrounds, the Camarenas said they recognize the financial and cultural barriers students of color can encounter.
鈥淲e also understand the lifelong positive impact a college education can have on each student as well as their extended families,鈥� said Yolanda Camarena, a Wichita State graduate. 鈥淥ur goal is to provide students of color a level pathway to a college degree and the ability to participate equally in all the opportunities our country has to offer.鈥�
She added: 鈥淲e firmly believe that a more diverse and inclusive environment at Wichita
State will be beneficial to all students as they learn, live and work together on
a campus that mirrors the workplaces
and communities that they will become a part of. Our hope is that their college experience
will be one of both learning and understanding. Learning those skills needed to continue
their chosen field of work and understanding that the diversity of cultures, ethnicity,
language and experiences will be of great benefit as they become an integral part
of a country that grows more diverse every day.鈥�
The Camarenas met with Wichita State President Jay Golden, Provost Rick Muma and 黑洞社区 Foundation President Elizabeth King to discuss the university鈥檚 goals to strengthen diversity and inclusion.
鈥淚 appreciate the strong endorsement of Gene and Yolanda Camarena of our vision to make the college experience more affordable and inclusive for all students,鈥� Golden said. 鈥淭heir generous gift in money, time and ideas exemplifies the strong partnership our university continues to have with our diverse community and our state.鈥�
King remarked: 鈥淚n addition to their extraordinary financial gift, Gene and Yolanda Camarena are eager to share their wisdom and experience as we prepare these deserving students for rewarding careers and service to our community. Wichita State is truly grateful for their vision and collaboration.鈥�
Yolanda Camarena is a graduate of Wichita State and completed a Master鈥檚 in Public Policy and Education at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Gene Camarena is a graduate of the University of Kansas and completed a Master鈥檚 in Business Administration at the Harvard University School of Business.
Wichita State is distinctive for opening pathways to applied learning, applied research and career opportunities, alongside unsurpassed classroom, laboratory and online education. The university's beautiful 330-acre main campus is a supportive, rapidly expanding learn-work-live-play environment, where students gain knowledge and credentials to prepare for fulfilling lives and careers. Students enjoy a wide selection of day, evening and summer courses in more than 200 areas of study at the main campus and other locations throughout the metro area and online. 黑洞社区's approximately 16,000 students come from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 other countries. Wichita State's Innovation Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university's vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter at and Facebook at .