By Andres Velez | Executive director
During the second four-month period of the year, the Felisa Johnson Foundation focused a significant part of its efforts on the selection processes for its Technical and University Scholarship Programs. The response from young people in Salgar was highly encouraging, with applications exceeding 25% of all 10th and 11th grade students enrolled in the municipality’s educational institutions.
One of the most noteworthy aspects of this year’s call for applications was the high participation of young women. Nearly 75% of all applications were submitted by female students, reflecting their growing interest in accessing educational opportunities that will allow them to build new academic and professional pathways.
Throughout these months, we had the opportunity to meet the applicants through psychological interviews and assessment centers. This process enabled us to identify young people with remarkable abilities, a strong desire to succeed, and tremendous potential to become agents of transformation for their families and communities. We are convinced that this year’s candidates represent an exceptional generation of future leaders. Technical scholarships will be awarded in September, while university scholarships will be awarded in November.
At the same time, the Foundation has been advancing three strategic initiatives that will play a key role in expanding our impact in the years ahead.
The first initiative focuses on building new partnerships that will allow us to increase scholarship coverage in the municipality. We are exploring collaborative models in which universities, foundations, and other organizations provide tuition funding, while the Felisa Johnson Foundation contributes what lies at the heart of our model: academic support, personalized psychological counseling, life skills workshops through SkillsLab, and academic excellence incentives. This strategy will enable us to reach more young people without compromising the quality and personalized support that define our program.
The second initiative aims to strengthen students’ preparation before they enter higher education. Although we currently award scholarships beginning in 10th grade and use 11th grade as a period for vocational guidance, academic preparation, and adaptation to university life, we have identified the need to begin this work even earlier. Our goal is to equip more young people with the skills and tools necessary to compete successfully not only for our scholarships, but also for other educational funding opportunities available at the regional and national levels.
Finally, we have begun structuring a project that excites us deeply: the creation of a physical headquarters for the Foundation in Salgar. This space will allow us to expand access to higher education opportunities through virtual degree programs, enabling young people who wish to remain in the municipality to pursue quality higher education without having to relocate to another city. We believe this initiative can become a new gateway to higher education for many students while contributing to the social and economic development of the region.
We remain convinced that education is one of the most powerful tools for transforming lives, strengthening families, and building a brighter future for Salgar. We are deeply grateful to all of our partners, donors, and supporters for making this shared purpose possible.
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