Although Rigoberto Mendoza has never been to Atlanta, he’ll be heading there next fall with a full ride scholarship to Emory University.
Mendoza, an 18-year-old senior at Odessa High School, was matched to Emory through the QuestBridge National College Match.
He found out about QuestBridge through his friend Evan Haley, who was matched to Princeton University a couple of years ago. Also, Mendoza said his English teacher David Newman pushed his students to apply to the program.
“The way QuestBridge works is you rank schools and the first school that wants you, you’ll get matched with them,” Mendoza said. “That’s how that’s how every became my match.”
Mendoza said he researched the colleges he listed, looked at the campus, the teacher to student ratio, the location and student life. He wants to major in biology and go into medical school. He’s leaning toward pathology and becoming a coroner.
“… I chose the path for my career to be pathology — the study of diseases. And I would really like for people to know why their loved one has passed, because pathology actually leads into autopsies. That’s the route I’m planning to taking right now is doing autopsies. But I really need to know if I have the stomach for it,” he added.
That’s the inspiration that got him into sciences — giving someone the answer they’re searching for. At the same time, the world of biology is never ending.
“There’s always something to research or acquire,” he said.
Emory, a private university, has about 7,000 undergraduate students, he said.
Since he was born and raised in Odessa, Mendoza acknowledges that going to Atlanta will be a culture shock.“One thing I would say is it’s kind of scary because … if you match to a university, you’re legally (bound) … to the university. So if you get matched, you have to go there. That’s why you have flexibility in which schools you rank in what order. I’m personally happy with my match. Emory has one of the best medical programs. That’s what I’m planning on going into,” Mendoza said.
He’s not sure what type of doctor he wants to be right now, but he’s thinking of becoming a pathologist.
Mendoza said his father was extremely happy about the scholarship he got, but his mother had mixed feelings at first because he will be moving so far from Odessa.
“But she’s also very happy for me,” Mendoza said.
He has two older sisters and one younger sister.
He observed that people could go a long way if they applied themselves academically. Biology and math are his favorite subjects.
“My motivation, it’s kind of difficult to pinpoint. And I don’t want to get too personal, but my parents’ divorce is actually what motivated me to get involved in school. I use school as a safe haven and as soon as I saw that people can actually go far if they apply (themselves) into academics. That’s been my motivation ever since to get to get out of here and actually bloom in another city, or another culture,” he said.
For other students who want to attend a top university, Mendoza said start researching one that you can see yourself at and see if it is a good fit and have a good support system to direct you.
“… Mr. Newman was my teacher that guided me and proofread in my essays. Really, it was like a blessing to have him at my side through the QuestBridge application. And also in our area, I really recommend to keep pushing the QuestBridge program because we don’t have that many applicants here and it’s a really amazing opportunity for the student body. …,” Mendoza said.
“I really suggest for the schools here at ECISD to push this program. Don’t get me wrong, it’s … a highly selective and difficult … application process, but it’s achievable,” he added.
He added that he presented that message to juniors the week of Feb. 14.
You have to come from a low-income family, write essays and short answer responses, get recommendations from teachers and upload all your financial aid.
“I think it helped coming from a student instead of a teacher pushing it to them, so I got with my English teacher Mr. Newman and he told me that it would be good if the students heard it from me since I had just recently gone through the process and how it’s impacted me,” Mendoza said.
OHS Principal Mauricio Marquez said he is extremely proud of Mendoza’s achievement and is excited that he has been selected as a QuestBridge recipient.
Mendoza also is in the International Baccalaureate program and plays tennis. He was in orchestra, but stopped this year.
“What separates Rigo from other students is his determination and perseverance to his academic studies. Not only is he enrolled in our most rigorous and advanced classes, but he is also involved in tennis along with other organizations on campus,” Marquez said. “Rigo is a perfect example that your circumstances don’t define who you are or what you will become one day. Your decisions and choices will determine that … and for him his decision to challenge himself academically has certainly paid off! I wish him the bet in all of his future endeavors and look forward to his many accomplishments.”
