The University of Missouri-Kansas City has many great partnerships and resources to help its students succeed throughout their college experience and well after graduation.
As part of its five-year partnership with the Kansas City Chiefs, UMKC offers undergraduate students the Chiefs Kingdom Spirit Scholarship. The criteria include having a 2.75 high school GPA or a 2.0 transfer GPA. Applicants must write an essay on how they would give back to the Kansas City area community. This year’s 10 recipients, who will be featured at a Chiefs game in the 2024-25 season, are:
- Arlin Carreon, business administration
- Qasim Chohdry, six-year B.A./M.D. program
- Kelly Fuentes, philosophy
- Sumaya Geelle, business administration
- Riley Harris, mechanical engineering
- Alexia Jaime, biology
- Nazish Khan, criminal justice and criminology
- Lorenzo Pecina, civil engineering
- Adeline-Corina Salomon, pre-nursing track for health sciences
- Peter Stern, mechanical engineering
This scholarship means a lot to the students who receive it, including Salomon and Stern who were among this year's scholarship winners.
“This scholarship has made it easier for me to focus on school. I work two jobs to pay for school and at times it has been hard to have my full attention on school but with this scholarship, some of my financial stress has been lifted.”
Stern is a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering. The scholarship offers an array of benefits, and for him, this scholarship helps him financially.
“I remember the night when I saw that the Chiefs scholarship had been credited to my financial aid account,” Stern said. “I was still in some disbelief that I had been selected for the award but was excited to know that my bill this semester had just been reduced by a significant amount. The Chiefs scholarship gave me the peace of mind that allowed me to focus on my studies.”
Winning this scholarship can encourage recipients to give back to the Kansas City community in ways they might not have been able to prior the scholarship. While grateful for his upbringing, being homeschooled did not bring Stern the academic references, scholarships or honor awards that he might have otherwise received in a public or private school district.
“Having the opportunity to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering at UMKC has been absolutely incredible, empowering me to dream bigger and brighter than I ever imagined,” Stern said. With the Chiefs’ victories and back-to-back Super Bowl wins, receiving the scholarship has made me feel more connected to the sport and even my city.”
Another recipient of the Chiefs Kingdom Spirit Scholarship is Salomon, a sophomore who is in the pre-nursing track for a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree.
“This scholarship has made it easier for me to focus on school,” she said. “I work two jobs to pay for school and at times it has been hard to have my full attention on school but with this scholarship, some of my financial stress has been lifted.”
Salomon has goals to help her hometown community after graduation, and this scholarship has made her dream of becoming a nurse much more possible.
“Having the opportunity to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering at UMKC has been absolutely incredible, empowering me to dream bigger and brighter than I ever imagined. With the Chiefs’ victories and back-to-back Super Bowl wins, receiving the scholarship has made me feel more connected to the sport and even my city.”
“I’m proud to be from Kansas City and attend UMKC,” Salomon said.
With the Chiefs’ victories, it has made this scholarship that much more special to her and she holds lots of pride for the community and is very grateful for the scholarship and how UMKC and the Chiefs are giving back to the community.
More information on how to apply for the Chiefs Kingdom Spirit Scholarship, can be found on the UMKC Financial Aid and Scholarships website.