ETS/American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education Undergraduate Fellowship Program

Mara Criollo-Rivera ’25 (business entrepreneurship (BS), digital media studies (BA), is photographed in Rush Rhees Library.

Latina/o/x students at the University of Rochester with a track record of service to the Hispanic or Latina/o/x community are eligible for this fellowship.

American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education logo.

Sponsored by the Educational Testing Service and the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (ETS/AAHHE), the ETS/AAHHE Undergraduate Fellowship Program was initiated in 2022 to increase Latina/o/x undergraduate students’ knowledge and understanding of post-baccalaureate options and career readiness through workshops and professionalization. Program goals include:

  • Providing strategies to assist fellows in achieving their academic and professional goals
  • Exposing undergraduate student fellows to the importance of research
  • Building a community and network of mentors and scholars

Applicants must be Latina/o/x, enrolled at a four-year university, aspire to pursue graduate studies, and exhibit a record of service to the Hispanic or Latina/o/x community.

Learn more about the ETS/AAHHE Undergraduate Fellowship Program and other fellowship, scholarship, and award opportunities available to Rochester students.

Recent recipients of the ETS/AAHHE Undergraduate Fellowship Program

Congratulations to the first ETS/AAHHE fellow from the University of Rochester!

Headshot of Mara Criollo-Rivera.Mara Criollo-Rivera ’25
Area of study: Business: entrepreneurship (BS), digital media studies (BA)
Details: 2023 Fellow

Mara Criollo-Rivera is one of 15 students chosen from 15 universities across the United States. She is of Peruvian and Puerto Rican descent. Born in Lansing, Michigan, she also has lived in New York, Vermont, and Puerto Rico.

She’s a bilingual research assistant at the University’s Cognitive Development Lab and is working on a research project titled “Understanding Puerto Rican Culture.” She’s also an intern at Ibero-American Action League, assisting the marketing and digital media departments with work on dual-language multi-service programs that advocate for Latino and underserved communities in Rochester.

Criollo-Rivera founded Rock of Arts by Mara, where she paints, sells, and showcases her Puerto Rican and Peruvian artwork using social media platforms. In addition, she taught an online youth workshop at La Casita Cultural Center of Syracuse University during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to help children in underserved communities engage with their creative expression.

Criollo-Rivera says she’s honored to be part of the inaugural class of fellows.

“This program will provide me with the resources needed to continue my path to becoming a leader for social change,” she says. “Most importantly, I want to advance my research skills in media studies to learn how changing the dynamic to a more culturally rich television environment will aid in the social development of children. In a world where media accessibility is constantly increasing, it’s vital to show how its biases will affect the increasing number of marginalized groups and influence how people of different backgrounds are perceived.”

She aspires to develop an entertainment production company devoted to creating diverse children’s multimedia content. “The content will serve as a positive model for children in the movement for social change,” she says.