For over 20 years, the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation Soy El Futuro! scholarship has been a catalyst for engaging students in opportunities throughout their academic and professional careers. Each year, scholarship recipients attend a leadership summit and are recognized at the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation’s annual gala.

Applications for the 2026 scholarship and leadership program are now open and offer Latine students a chance at $5,000 towards school and opportunities in the foundation’s network.

Recipients also build a strong sense of community through the foundation.

“Being surrounded by so many significant and important and well-known people, and the fact that we were the ones being recognized, was just a feeling that I can’t explain,” said Liliana Calenda, a DePaul freshman and 2025 scholarship recipient. “It was filled with so much pride, especially because our culture was being represented.”

Calenda, who is double majoring in psychology and sociology, hopes to become a social worker to give back to underserved communities through social and mental health resources.

Shortly after starting college, she participated in the two-day leadership summit for new recipients. She said being able to meet and network with the cohort of other students, foundation members and legislators at the summit was eye-opening.

“It was just really amazing to see all this representation of Latino students be around me and also be able to talk with them, talk about their experiences,” Calenda said.

Juan Carlos Arenas, the Soy El Futuro! program manager said this scholarship allows the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation to fulfill their mission of fostering the next generation of leaders while advocating for the needs of the Latine community by encouraging students to give back and connect with others.

“We know that they’re well-deserving since the beginning,” Arenas said. “We know that they’re going to do great things for the community.”

The Soy El Futuro! scholarship was formerly known as the Michael W. Gonzalez Scholarship, named after a founding member of the organization. Throughout the years Gonzalez was proud and inspired by the many scholarships made available to Latine students to assist them with college expenses, according to the foundation’s Facebook post.

Gonzalez volunteered as vice chair for the organization from its establishment in 2002 until his passing in 2019.

Elizabeth Villarreal received this scholarship in 2005 to help fund her undergraduate education at Concordia University Chicago. Now she is pursuing her Ph.D. in philosophy in community psychology at National Louis University.

She is currently serving as chair of the Alumni Board’s leadership committee.

“I’m developing and growing too in these roles and it’s just a really good feeling when you’re surrounded by people that understand you,” Villarreal said. “When I’m with ILLCF (Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation), I feel like I’m at home.”

Villarreal, or “La Madrina” as some colleagues call her, works to uplift her community and help others get the support that they need through the foundation’s network.

“I want to make sure that students have those opportunities to develop and grow in those connections because those connections would help you to open doors,” she said.

The leadership committee is planning another two-day summit in October for 2026 scholarship recipients with workshops on LinkedIn, branding, leadership styles and networking. Recipients will also meet with legislators of the foundation to hear about their educational and life experiences and get to know them on a personal level.

The foundation’s alumni board oversees scholarship applications to help choose recipients. Once students become a part of the foundation’s alumni association, they are members for life and have access to the foundation’s network, opportunities and resources, Arenas said.

The application deadline for the Soy El Futuro! Scholarship is Friday, July 3.

“It’s not just an organization that you pop in and pop out of,” Villarreal said. “It’s understanding the importance of an alumni, of how you behave in social spaces and how you represent, and then how you impact others.”