October 21, 2014

NJ Revilla-Garcia

Southwest Airlines and HACU announce the college student recipients of 2014 Annual Travel Award Program

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and Southwest Airlines have announced 90 students were selected to receive the annual "Lánzate/Take Off" Education Travel Award. For a complete list of all Travel Award Program awardees, click here. 

“For the past ten years, students have submitted compelling essays and sent heartwarming letters that demonstrate the importance of the Southwest ¡Lánzate! Travel Awards Program to their higher education success,” said Antonio R. Flores, HACU President and CEO. 

“The success of Hispanics in higher education depends on a community effort, and Southwest Airlines has proven time and again that they support our community wholeheartedly with the extremely successful ¡Lánzate! Travel Award Program. Congratulations to the students and to Southwest Airlines for this wonderful program.”

The travel awards program, in its tenth year, will provide students with round-trip tickets to be used by them or members of their immediate families for travel among colleges and universities located near any of the airports Southwest Airlines serves. Southwest gave 231 tickets this year to encourage students to continue on their path to higher education.

“We are proud to be in our tenth year of helping Hispanic youth throughout the country make their dreams of higher education come true,” said Christine Ortega, Southwest’s Manager of Community Affairs & Grassroots. 

“For many Hispanic students, the ability to stay connected to their family determines whether they graduate or drop out of school.  These tickets allow either students to fly home or their families fly to campus to celebrate important milestones in their college journeys.” 

The winners were selected from students across the nation who submitted essays under the theme "Dándole Alas a Tu Exito/Giving Flight to Your Success," and demonstrated how the travel award would help them achieve their goal to pursue higher education.