The Alfredo Santiago Endowed Scholarship at Rutgers was established in 1999 by CSUCL Director Dr. Gloria Bonilla-Santiago in loving memory of her husband Alfredo Santiago and with the goal to increase the number of children in Camden who attend college. 

The Scholarship provides financial assistance to first-year undergraduate students who graduate from LEAP Academy University Charter School and enroll full-time at one of Rutgers University’s three campuses.  In 2002, the Scholarship received a donation from former President/CEO of Commerce Bank Vernon Hill to create the Commerce Alfredo Santiago Scholarship, which allowed the endowment to support students attending colleges outside Rutgers as well. 

Since 2005 the Alfredo Santiago Scholarship has made it possible for 25 students from Camden to attend college.  In a city where only 5.5% of adults hold a bachelor’s or professional degree and only 51% hold a high school diploma (according to a 2006 report by CamConnect), there is an urgent need for greater access to and greater affordability of higher education for Camden youth. 

Therefore, the Scholarship is awarded annually to eligible LEAP graduates based on academic merit and financial need with an emphasis on increasing diversity at Rutgers; preference is given to Latino and African-American students majoring in nontraditional areas of study (business, science, engineering, and pre-medicine).  Recipients who remain in good academic standing may renew the scholarship for up to three years (four years if they are enrolled in a five-year program). 

>Click here to meet our Scholarship recipients.  >Click here to learn more about Alfredo Santiago.