Millennium Scholars

Becoming a Gates Millennium Scholar is worth the hard work and extra effort, Brownsville Independent School District recipients of the minority-targeted scholarship say.

"It's a lot of help - a full ride all the way through graduate school," said Sarah Marroquin of Gladys Porter High School, whose cousin was a Gates scholar in 2004.

"She warned me it was a lot of work, but she encouraged me to apply - and it was worth it, Marroquin said.

Marroquin will major in music education at The University of Texas at Austin, with minors in Spanish and business. She then plans to go to graduate school at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.

Like the other six Gates Millennium Scholars among this year's BISD graduates, she was unsure college would have been possible without the scholarship. Now, tuition and fees, books, supplies and housing are paid for as long as she keeps up her grades.

The Gates Millennium Scholars program started in 1999 with a $1 billion grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Its goal is to promote academic excellence and provide opportunity for outstanding minority students with significant financial need to reach their highest potential.

"Our teachers were just encouraging everyone who was eligible to apply," said April Ortiz, one of three Gates scholars from Rivera High School.

"Since I'm the student body president and the last three student body presidents got it, I thought I'd have a good chance."

Ortiz said she is undecided between biology and chemistry as an undergraduate major. She will attend Baylor University, plans to go to medical school there and hopes to become a cardiologist.

Monique Rodriguez of Hanna High School had a similar experience.

"The last three recipients from Hanna were my friends and they encouraged me to apply," she said. "They said ‘get your paperwork in early, but go for it,' and I got it."

Rodriguez plans a double major in biology and English, with a minor in political science, at the University of Iowa. After that, she plans to go to medical school and become a doctor.

Ytalo Alejandro Martinez will pursue a career as an architect. The Rivera graduate plans to attend Texas A&M University in College Station and later "transfer out" to a major architectural school.

He is from Matamoros and spoke only basic English when he came here as a freshman. Still, he has taken Advanced Placement courses from the beginning.

"When they put an obstacle in front of you, you want to overcome it," he said of having to learn English along with the other requirements for graduation.

BISD's other Gates Millennium Scholars include:

ä Paulina Sosa of Pace High School, who will attend The University of Texas at Austin and pursue a double major in philosophy and English.

ä Ivan Oropeza of Rivera, who will pursue an engineering degree at the University of Texas at Dallas.

ä Melinda Villarreal of Hanna, who will major in biology at Texas A&M University at College Station as a prelude to medical school.

glong@brownsvilleherald.com