Four Brownsville students earn Alliance/Merck scholarships

Three recent Brownsville high school graduates who are pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math are part of the first group of 10 Alliance/Merck Ciencia Scholars being announced today by the National Alliance for Hispanic Health.

Two of the students are 2009 graduates of the Mathematics and Science Academy at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College who graduated with 4.0 cumulative grade-point averages. The third is a 2009 graduate of Lopez High School who graduated with a 3.68 cumulative GPA.

Each is majoring in a STEM field and will receive up to $42,500 in college scholarship and summer research internship support over the next four years.

In addition, the alliance announced that 25 Hispanic college students majoring in a STEM field are recipients of a $2,000 Ciencia National Scholarship. This group includes a sophomore at UTB-TSC who is carrying a 4.0 GPA in her physics major.

"These students will redefine the frontiers of science," Dr. Jane L. Delgado, president and chief executive officer of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, said of the scholarship recipients. "I have no doubt they will be the next generation of Nobel prize winners, lab directors, professors and health professionals leading scientific discovery that improves our health and well-being."

Delgado noted that the substantial financial support the scholarships provide makes a college education possible for many of the recipients.

Mark Garcia, 18, one of the two Mathematics and Science Academy graduates, is a freshman at Texas A&M University in College Station, where he is pursuing a biology degree. He said the scholarship and internship support will make a significant difference.

"The Ciencia Scholars program will provide the resources and career exploration opportunities I need to find my niche and scientific career that suits me," Garcia said.

Garcia has already conducted biomedical research into the role of the eyes’ photoreceptor cells in retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, two diseases that cause blindness. This early research experience helped shape his desire to pursue a degree in biology and contribute to research that improves diabetes prevention and treatment.

Other recipients include:

-- Jose Pablo "JP" Llongueras, 18, also a Mathematics and Science Academy graduate. Llongueras is studying biology at UTB-TSC having already earned almost half of the college credits needed to graduate by taking college courses while completing his high school diploma.

His passion for biology started when his friend, Jonathan, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2006. For two months, Llongueras researched brain tumors, treatments and side effects to better understand what happened to his friend. In the process, he realized biology is his calling.

-- Juan O. Perez, a freshman at the University of Texas at Arlington and a 2009 Lopez High School graduate. Perez completed his high school diploma while taking college credits at UTB-TSC’s Upward Bound Math and Science program. Mathematics has been one of his passions since second grade.

Perez says knowing what his parents sacrificed to provide him with opportunities gives him the strength and will to achieve his goals. After college, Perez hopes to work at NASA and become part of a history-making project, like landing on Pluto.

-- Liliana Ruiz, a sophomore physics major at UTB-TSC, who received one of the $2,000 Ciencia National Scholarships.

The first generation in her family to attend college, Ruiz credits her mother’s example for her desire to succeed in her chosen field of physics as well as instilling in her the importance of teaching others. Ruiz participates in an outreach program called the Physics Circus that takes a set of demonstrations to schools to present fundamentals of physics and encourage an interest in the sciences. She has chosen to study physics to understand more about the world in which we live and is excited about a future as a scientist exploring the laws of the universe.

The scholarships awarded today are the first awarded under a program is made possible through a $4 million grant from The Merck Company Foundation, philanthropic arm of the research-based pharmaceutical company Merck & Co.

Over the next five years, the Alliance/Merck Ciencia Hispanic Scholars Program will provide 50 promising Hispanic students from Brownsville, Los Angeles, Calif., and Elizabeth, N.J., with $42,500 in scholarships and internship support to pursue STEM degrees. Schools in the three cities have long histories of working with the NAHH and the Merck Institute for Science Education, scholarship officials said.

Additionally, 125 Hispanic students nationwide will receive $2,000 scholarships to pursue STEM degrees.