Brenda Paola Morales is a recent graduate of Premier High School of Laredo. She plans to attend college in the fall to become a nurse. Helping her achieve her dream is a $1,000 scholarship from the Laredo Rotary Club.
“The scholarship will help me in the fall. It will help me pay for tuition and books. If I have any remaining, I will save it for next year,” Brenda says.
Campus Director Berta Martinez believes the scholarship is well deserved.
“Brenda is an outstanding student. She is very quiet, but she was always a hard worker. We are very proud of her. She will be a great nurse one day, and we look forward to seeing her meeting those goals,” she says.
Brenda has been at the school since her freshman year and is grateful for the individualized attention she received from her teachers while at Premier.
“My teachers are always there helping me out. It was my teacher who recommended I apply for this scholarship,” she explains.
Filling out essay questions about her plans for the future and how her background affected her, Brenda was surprised when she was notified she won the scholarship.
Brenda is graduating a semester early thanks to Premier High School’s individualized program. The flexible hours also made it possible for her to help her family out by watching her younger brothers.
“We are normally dismissed at 2 p.m., but a lot of times I would stay later to complete my work and get ahead,” she comments.
After her time at Premier, Brenda believes she is ready for college.
“Premier is not like other schools. It can be challenging because you have to stay motivated. It gives you more of the adult attitude of being independent and self-guided. I think that will help with college,” she says.
To save money, Brenda plans to attend the local community college and then transfer to Texas A&M in Laredo. In addition to the scholarship from the Rotary Club, Brenda received a small anonymous scholarship at graduation.
