Menendez, Padilla, Cornyn Unveil Bipartisan Resolution Celebrating 30th Anniversary of HACU's Hispanic National Internship Program

Press Release

U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), co-founders and co-chairs of the Hispanic-Serving Institutions Senate Caucus, alongside Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) unveiled a bipartisan resolution recognizing the 30th anniversary since the founding of the Hispanic National Internship Program (HNIP), a seminal program of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) known for promoting and celebrating Latino excellence and creating greater career development opportunities for Latino and Hispanic students across the country.

"As co-chair of the Hispanic-Serving Institutions Senate Caucus, I am proud to join my fellow co-chair Senator Padilla, as well as Senator Cornyn, in recognizing HACU's Hispanic National Internship Program for 30 years of excellence and service to Latino and Hispanic students committed to pursuing a career in public service", said Sen. Menendez. "Today, I recommit to finding more ways to provide greater resources to our Hispanic-serving institutions and bolster life-changing career development programs such as HNIP."

"I'm proud to join Senator Menendez in honoring 30 years of HACU's work to ensure greater access to higher education for Latino students," said Sen. Padilla. "As co-chairs of the Senate HSI caucus, we will continue working alongside HACU to ensure that HSIs have the resources they need to support our students and strengthen the communities that are uplifted by their success."

"It's important that we celebrate not only Hispanic heritage, but also educational achievements and opportunities for Hispanic students," said Sen. Cornyn. "We all know that education is the key to the American dream, but no one understands that aspirational goal better than our Hispanic populations in Texas. I'm glad to support this program that has provided real-world experience through internships for three decades."

For 30 years, HNIP has helped provide federal and private internship opportunities to Latinos and underrepresented students attending Hispanic-serving institutions and other institutions of higher education. Over 14,000 HNIP alumni now work in federal, state, or local government and across private industries, furthering HACU's goal of increasing diversity in the federal government and the private sector. There are 569 Hispanic-Serving Institutions found in 185 congressional districts across 28 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

In 2021 and 2022, the following institutions of higher learning from New Jersey, California, and Texas were represented in the HNIP: Rutgers University, Newark Campus; Rutgers University, News Brunswick Campus; Montclair State University; Kean University; Hudson County Community College; California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; San Francisco State University; California State University, Long Beach; California State University, Fresno; Humboldt State University; University of California, Davis; University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Irvine; University of California, Riverside; University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Merced; University of California, Santa Barbara; California Lutheran University; California State University, East Bay; Sacramento State University; California State University, San Bernardino; California State University, Fullerton; San Diego State University; University of Southern California; Riverside City College; San Jose State University; California State University, Monterey Bay; University of Texas at Arlington; Northeast Lakeview College; University of Texas at El Paso; University of the Incarnate Word; University of Houston-Downtown; San Antonio College; University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; Texas A&M University; Texas A&M International University; St. Mary's University; St. Philip's College; St. Edward's University; Texas Lutheran University; Northwest Vista College; Texas State University, and; University of Houston-Clear Lake.

"The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities thanks the Senate for recognizing the 30-year milestone of the HACU National Internship Program that has opened doors for many colleges students and served as a resource to increasing workforce diversity nationwide in the Federal Government and the private sector," said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores. "We are grateful to all our federal and corporate partners who have given our interns from Hispanic-Serving Institutions and other colleges and universities invaluable opportunities to gain real world experience to help shape the future workforce of this nation."

Joining Menendez, Padilla, and Cornyn in supporting the resolution are Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

For a copy of the resolution click HERE.

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