Siemens, HBCU Partnership Pays Off for Chicago Public School Students - Higher Education: The cheers and applause that went up inside a darkened hotel ballroom in Chicago Friday night meant some 300 public high school seniors were closer to their dream of getting a college education. For 10 years running, the global electronics and engineering conglomerate Siemens has hosted the HBCU Scholarship Reception, during which Chicago Public School (CPS) students are promised generous scholarships to historically Black colleges and universities from across the country.
At the reception, students sat anxiously in the audience as representatives from 30 HBCUs, who were seated at two long tables on a stage, stepped up to the microphone to announce their list of scholarship packages. When each student’s name was called along with the academic award they were getting, fellow students roared as though a game-winning play had just occurred.
In some ways it had because the students had just secured scholarships ranging from $2,500 to upward of $80,000. This was a big deal for them and their families.
