When Estefania Sandoval first began her college journey, she had no idea how she would afford the cost of a degree. Though she relentlessly applied for several scholarships in high school, she was never selected. Despite this, she was steadfast in pursuing her education.

Today, Sandoval is a junior at UNLV and one of the newest recipients of a $10,000 Nike Hispanic-Serving Institution Scholarship.

“I was able to pay my tuition with little out-of-pocket cost,” Sandoval said.

Sandoval began her undergraduate career as a pre-nursing major at the College of Southern Nevada before transferring to UNLV in the fall semester of 2023, which was when she learned about the Nike HSI Scholarship.

Someone close to Sandoval emailed her a list of scholarships that would allow her to keep working toward earning her degree while minimizing the financial impact. The Nike HSI Scholarship was one of those listed.

The Nike scholarship had relatively few criteria: students must be of Hispanic heritage, have a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 2.5, and be currently enrolled full-time in a Hispanic-Serving Institution – a designation that UNLV is proud to hold.

Sandoval noted that Nike’s application process was very straightforward.

“Once they have your information,” she said, including GPA, school information, and income, “the last phase of the process was a paper. It wasn’t too long – basically, what are your goals, and how can Nike help you achieve those goals.”

In her application, Sandoval told Nike about her dream of helping minority and immigrant communities overcome barriers to accessing adequate health care.

“There’s a lot of language barriers [for many who] don’t have health insurance, so I want to close those gaps,” she said. “My big goal is to be the voice for people who might not feel they have one, especially families who are misinformed and lack access.”

As someone who has lived in Las Vegas for most of her life without health insurance, the issue is close to Sandoval’s heart.

“Health care is a right, not a privilege, regardless of who you are and where you come from. I lived through it,” she said. “I would like to change or advocate for better health care conditions for everybody, especially in the Las Vegas area, where it’s a melting pot. It’s our students, our classmates, and our coworkers who might be facing health disparities. You never know.”

By the time Sandoval made it to UNLV, she had decided to change her pre-nursing major, realizing that clinical work was not her path but wanting to continue in the health field she loved.

“I’m a health care administration major, so I applied for many scholarships that were in the field as well,” Sandoval said. “My plan is to go to law school to practice health law.”

The Nike scholarship will help Sandoval take the big steps required for her to reach her dreams, and she’s not done applying for as many scholarships as she can. She urges anyone eligible to apply for financial aid and scholarships to do so relentlessly.

“It doesn’t cost anything. They’re always available, they’re free, and there are many organizations [who provide them]. I was denied many scholarships, and I didn’t know how I was going to pay for college, but because of [searching], there’s a lot of help for students,” Sandoval said.

Her best tip for her fellow students: look at UNLV’s social media pages for opportunities.

“Follow UNLV’s social media, they always upload scholarship opportunities,” she advised. “I’ve noticed on [UNLV’s] Instagram there are a lot of school-affiliated websites that give students the opportunity to apply, whether it’s on a state base or a national base.”

UNLV’s designation as an HSI played a part in Sandoval’s selection to receive the Nike scholarship, but she noted that UNLV’s dedication to its students is what makes the university stand out and help the Rebel community thrive.

“Always strive forward. There’s a lot of help for minority students. Whoever you are, there is help for you whether it’s financially or, what I love about UNLV is when you’re having a hard time, there are mental health services,” Sandoval said. “Take advantage of the resources that are provided to you, because there are many.”