Andrea graduated from Milton-Union High School in West Milton, Ohio, where she was valedictorian, a Buckeye Girls’ State Delegate, student council president and member of National Honor Society.

 

She says the passing of her great aunt solidified her decision to study biomedical engineering. “Disease is something the world can never be rid of,” says Andrea. “I wish to solve medical problems to make patients’ lives and doctors’ jobs simpler.”

 

Andrea’s outstanding volunteer spirit is the result of hours of service work through the Freshman Focus Program at her school. She mentored and tutored underclassmen, helped collect canned goods for the Thanksgiving food drive, wrapped and delivered Christmas gifts to families in need, volunteered at a soup kitchen and gave blood.

 

She intends to obtain a teaching license in order to share her knowledge with students at the secondary or collegiate level. “Over the last four years, I’ve developed an interest in teaching,” says Andrea. “Teaching will allow me to unlock students’ potential, facilitate their development and set them up for success.”

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Ali graduated from White Lake High School in White Lake, S.D., where she was a Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Conference representative, math tutor and volunteer elementary basketball coach.

 

She’s active in her church and has been a member of its youth organization throughout high school. Ali has taught Bible school for the last six years.

 

“My parents instilled in me a strong faith in God, and I feel privileged to pass this faith on to the younger members of my community,” she says.

Her volunteer activities don’t stop there. Ali spends a great deal of time at the Aurora-Brule Nursing Home, spending time with the residents, playing games and sharing her musical talents (Ali plays the piano).

 

She plans to use her bachelor’s degree as a stepping stone for her ultimate education goal: to be accepted into the Sanford School of Medicine’s graduating class of 2020. “I intend to become a rural family practice physician, to provide medical care for the South Dakotans who love their rural community as much as I do,” Ali says.

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Jonathon J. Stach

San Antonio, Texas
$16,000 College Scholarship
Rice University
Houston, Texas
Major: Undeclared
Parents: Brad and Veronica Stach

Jonathon graduated from Luther Burbank High School in San Antonio, Texas, where he was a National Merit Scholar and National Hispanic Scholar of the College Board.

 

During his freshman year of high school, Jonathon was told he wouldn’t be able to receive a distinguished diploma because he wasn’t physically able to meet the school’s P.E. requirements. Jonathan has muscular atrophy and is confined to a wheelchair.

 

Jonathan, who hasn’t allowed his physical disability to limit his academic potential, wasn’t going down without a fight. Under the sponsorship of a family friend, he took the problem all the way to the Texas Legislature. House Bill 692 was introduced in 2011; if passed, it would remove the recommended diploma P.E. requirement for physically challenged students.

 

Jonathon spoke in favor of the bill on its journey through the legal system, eventually testifying in front of the Committee on Education. The bill was signed by the governor in September 2011.

 

He says he’s been contacted by several people since, thanking him for blazing a trail for their own children. “Knowing that I helped those people was amazing,” says Jonathon.