Delaware State student awarded $25K from Bimbo Bakeries

Bimbo Bakeries USA announced Bryce Banks of Delaware State University as one of four $25,000 winners in its college grant sweepstakes.

The award will go toward college expenses for Banks, a natural resources and wildlife management student in the Class of 2024. He said he chose DSU for its great agriculture department and to be close to his family. After graduation, Banks said he hopes to pursue a career in wildlife rehabilitation or conservation. His interest in agriculture and passion for wildlife stem from his high school involvement in Future Farmers of America.

“I am so thankful for Bimbo Bakeries USA for providing me with this grant,” said Banks. “It will greatly help me with my education, and help me pursue my dreams in agriculture and natural resources that the FFA sparked in me.”

BBU’s College Grant Sweepstakes took place in September as a part of Hispanic Heritage Month. Through its partnership with Univision, BBU hoped that this sweepstakes would ignite a conversation on the importance of supporting Hispanic students.The Hispanic population in the United States is the largest minority group, making up 18 percent of U.S. residents. The percentage of Hispanics who attend higher education lags, and they often face a lack of financial resources.

Delaware State University has also implemented initiatives to assist Hispanic students. Since 2016, DSU has annually enrolled about 30 Dreamers, the majority of whom are Hispanic undocumented students, as part of the Opportunity Scholarship offered by TheDream.US. Dreamers are largely shut out of higher education opportunities due to their undocumented immigration status, which prohibits them from obtaining federal financial aid to attend college. As one of only a few universities to partner with TheDream.US, DSU has since graduated two groups of Dreamers (Classes of 2020 and 2021) and currently, there are about 150 of these students enrolled.

Bimbo Bakeries USA is known for its quality brands including Arnold, Artesano, Boboli, Entenmann's, Sara Lee, Stroehmann and Thomas'. BBU is owned by Mexico's Grupo Bimbo, S.A.B de C.V., the world's largest baking company, with operations in 33 countries.