Esmeralda Posada, a senior at Newton High School, is ready to take on college. Posada recently received a full tuition scholarship to Southwestern College, which will cover her tuition for all four years of college.
Currently, Posada is preparing for college by taking pre-requisite classes through Hutchinson Community College. Posada is going into college ready to join clubs and be seen as a leader.
“While I’m in college, I do want to be a part of clubs and have some leadership,” Posada said.
Posada heard about the Pillars scholarship, which covers tuition, shortly after applying to the college and after receiving an email from Southwestern College. The first step in competing for the scholarship is to write an essay and submit it to the school. After this, Posada received a response that she was a finalist.
“I got a letter that said I was a finalist and I was like ‘This is a joke,’” Posada said.
Being a finalist meant Posada had to take part in an interview with two faculty members along with writing another essay. As she was going to do the interview, the first person she met was the president of the school which was nerve-racking, but she remained confident in how the interview went.
“I sent them all thank you letters after the interview, which I think played a part in the decision-making,” Posada said.
Posada received her scholarship while she was in choir class, which she wasn’t expecting to happen. She felt it was a little embarrassing for her to receive it in front of her choir class but she was very happy to be receiving this scholarship.
“I was more excited to tell my parents honestly, just because I didn’t want them to have to pay for college, and neither did I,” Posada said.
Receiving this scholarship means that all of her classes will be fully covered with the exception of on-campus amenities. Posada still has to pay for textbooks, meals, and her dorm.
“One school year with meals and my dorm would [only] be about $5,000,” Posada said.
In college, Posada plans to major in business administration and management. Eventually, she wants to be an executive for a non-profit organization, which she hopes to make strides towards through networking in college.
“I am very excited to go to college and what I am most excited about is experiencing a new environment and expanding my network,” Posada said.
