About VAMOS

Three decades of investing in the lives of first-generation, low-income students.

VAMOS was founded by local civic and business leaders who recognized a significant challenge facing the Rio Grande Valley: academically talented, hardworking students unable to pursue higher education simply because their families lacked financial resources. Believing that financial circumstances should not determine a student’s future, they established the VAMOS Scholarship Program in 1996, with a mission to provide deserving students with the financial assistance, mentorship and support needed to earn a college degree.

The VAMOS Class of 2026 at the 30th Annual Scholarship Banquet

30th Annual Scholarship Banquet — $1M in scholarships awarded to 63 of the best and brightest students in the Rio Grande Valley.

Our Story

It began with…

In 1996, NAFTA was about to reshape South Texas, and a group of Valley civic and business leaders came together around a simple question: 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 more than $27 million to over 1,450 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.