Student Stories
Benjamin Fuentes
Satanta, Kan.
Computer science, class of 2011
“If it weren’t for this scholarship, I probably wouldn’t be at KU. I’m a first-generation college student. I didn’t know how to save for college, so this has really helped me.”
Benjamin Fuentes set his sights on KU when he was in fourth grade. While visiting a cousin at a community college, he saw a KU representative who had set up a table on campus.
“I saw all the KU stuff. I saw how professional he was. After that, I was KU all the way. Now I’m living what I wanted to do,” said Fuentes.
Fuentes, along with 14 other KU freshmen, was selected as an inaugural recipient of the Madison A. and Lila Self Engineering Leadership Fellowship. The scholarship was created through a gift from Madison “Al” Self, chemical engineering ’43, and Lila Reetz Self, class of ’43.
The scholarship provides $4,000 in support during both the freshman and sophomore years and $6,000 during both the junior and senior years. For Fuentes, the Self scholarship opened the door to a college education at the university on which he had set his sights.
“It’s a really good feeling to actually be living something that you’ve dreamed about for so long,” Fuentes said. “I had thought about coming to KU for so many years, but because of our circumstances I didn’t think I could.”
In addition to the Self scholarship, Fuentes is a recipient of KU’s Hispanic Scholarship and a School of Engineering Scholarship.