Student gets national acclaim
Davie teen in exclusive company by earning $5K science, math scholarship
When Nicolas Pena heads to Stanford University to study engineering, he’ll go there with some financial assistance.
The recent graduate of Western High School in Davie was one of four high school seniors in the country chosen by the Council of Great City Schools to receive the $5,000 2015 ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Math and Science Scholarship. There were nearly 400 applicants, and eight finalists were sent to Bernard Harris Jr., the first African-American to walk in space, to decide the winners.
“When I heard I won, I don’t remember what I was doing,” said Pena,18. “I ran out of my room and told my mom. I screamed or something. We were jumping up and down. It was crazy. I’m so happy to have this.”
Award opportunities are offered to African-American and Hispanic seniors looking to pursue STEM studies from the 67 school districts represented by the CGCS.
Henry Duvall, director of communications and scholarship coordinator, said it’s the second consecutive year there was a winner from Broward. The organization takes into account academic performance, standardized testing scores and community leadership.
“This is truly a highly competitive national scholarship program,” he said. “… The whole purpose of this scholarship was to create and maintain a pipeline for talented inner-city students pursuing post-secondary studies in science, technology, engineering and math.”
Pena helped build up Western High’s Mu Alpha Theta math competition club. Participation tripled over his four years there, and they became a contender on a state and national level. Last year, he was elected national president of Mu Alpha Theta.
“It’s so difficult to make a decision because all these students are just so good, but he had everything it takes to win this award,” Duvall said.
Pena is excited about starting college.
“I love engineering and really hope to invent something,” he said. “I want to really invest in it and end up being a CEO of a company. That would be incredible.”