About VAMOS

Thirty years of helping
Valley students get to college.

The Valley Alliance of Mentors for Opportunities and Scholarships was founded in 1996 by a group of South Texas business leaders who were tired of seeing local students miss out on college because the cost was out of reach.

The 2025 scholarship class — 63 students awarded a combined $1 million in renewable, four-year scholarships at our 29th Annual Banquet.

Our Story

It began with Alonzo Cantú and a question.

In 1996, NAFTA was about to reshape South Texas. Alonzo Cantú, a builder and businessman who was the first in his own family to finish college, gathered some Valley leaders around his table. His question was simple: how do we make sure local students have a place in this future, instead of watching it pass them by?

The answer they built together was VAMOS — the Valley Alliance of Mentors for Opportunities and Scholarships. The model was simple and demanding: four-year renewable scholarships, real mentorship, and an expectation that scholars would come back and lift the next class.

That first year, VAMOS funded a handful of students. Since then we've given $26 million to more than 1,400 students, and 96% of them earn their degrees, which is well above the national average for first-generation students. Today, VAMOS alumni practice medicine and law, teach in local classrooms, build companies, and serve the same communities that raised them. A few now sit on our board.

The mission has stayed steady as the Valley has grown.

Mission

Making the dream of a college education a reality for graduating high school seniors of the Rio Grande Valley.

Vision

A Valley that grows its own leaders: students who go to college, come home, and help the next student do the same.

Leadership

The people who run VAMOS.

VAMOS is led by a working board of Valley business leaders, physicians, educators, and attorneys who give their time, expertise, and personal support so donations raised for scholarships can go to students.