A total of 40 Laredo ISD students from Cigarroa, Martin, Nixon, and Hector J. Garcia Early College High Schools were awarded the National Hispanic Recognition Award (NHRA) and the National Indigenous Award (NIA) by the College Board National Recognition Programs.
These recognitions celebrate students' hard work in high school and showcase their strong academic performance. The academic honors for rural area, Black, Indigenous, and/or Latino students are an opportunity for students to share their strong academic achievements with colleges and scholarship programs that are seeking to recruit diverse talent.
Students who earned the NHRA include Nixon High School students Estefania Balderas, Guillermo Tovar, John Sosa, Kevin Mcclure, Manuel Gomez, Rodrigo Rodriguez, Veronica Cadena, Victor Martell, Yeikol Chapa, and Zoe Sifuentes.
Cigarroa High School students included Jedidiah Fipps, Jorge Vasquez, who also attends the Sabas Perez Early College High School, and Raelyn Villalon.
Garcia Early College High School students included Aaron Alvarez, Alexis Fuentes, Alma Licona, Anahi Estrada, Christy Sandoval, Dulce Valdez, Emily Garza, Esai Morales, Fatima Gonzalez, Gaspar Castellanos, Isabella Hernandez, Jacob Benavides, Jaden Maldonado, Jocelyn Zamora, Jose Torres, Karmen Manzanares, Marcos Benavides, Maribel Cabello, Mia Cuevas, Penelope Cerda, Priscilla Morua, Viktorya Salas, and earning both NHRA and NIA is Richard Deschampe.
Martin High School students Fabiola Lopez Sanchez, Natalia Prado, Natalie Gonzalez, and Sebastian Chaires, who also attend the Dr. Dennis D. Cantu Early College High School.
“Laredo ISD is extremely proud of our students and their dedication and desire for a brighter future. We thank the College Board for recognizing the hard work of Laredo ISD students. Since this recognition program began, we have seen a steady increase in qualifying students,” LISD Guidance and Counseling/At-Risk Population Director Cindy Dominguez said. “This is a testament to their commitment to excelling in college readiness exams, maintaining a high GPA, and continuously seek opportunities to be leaders in our city and beyond. We look forward to their future accomplishments and successes.”
The criteria for eligible students include: GPA of 3.5 or higher, PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 assessment scores that are within the top 10% of assessment takers in each state for each award program or earned a score of 3 or higher on 2 or more AP Exams in 9th and 10th grade, and attend school in a rural area or small town, or identify as African American/Black, Hispanic American/Latino, or Indigenous/Native.
Eligible students are invited to apply on BigFuture during their sophomore or junior year and are awarded at the start of the next school year in time to share their achievements in high school as they plan for the future. At the same time, colleges and organizations using College Board’s Student Search Service™ can connect directly with awardees during the recruitment process.
“It’s becoming increasingly hard for students to be ‘seen’ during the college recruitment process. We’re exceptionally proud of the National Recognition Programs for celebrating students who are at times overlooked but have shown their outstanding academic abilities,” said Tarlin Ray, Senior Vice President of BigFuture® at College Board. “This is a benefit not only for students but also for colleges and universities committed to recruiting diverse and talented students.”
