BBCC College Bound student earns scholarship

Elizabeth Pacheco, a Moses Lake High School senior and participant in the BBCC College Bound program was recently honored as the second recipient of the annual Pearl M. Hill Memorial Scholarship. She is the daughter of Maria Pacheco from Moses Lake.

Pacheco, 17, was presented the $500 award recently by Robert Guerrero, president of the Northwest Association of Special Programs (NASP) and Sally Burge, Chair of the Pearl Hill Scholarship Committee.

"She is a person who leads by example and is a positive role model for Hispanic young women," said Anita De Leon, academic coordinator for BBCC's College Bound program. "I respect and admire Elizabeth's inner strength and determination to excel in school and to be the first person in her family to pursue a higher education."

College Bound is part of the Department of Education's national Upward Bound programs that are designed to help low-income and first-generation college bound students progress from high school to institutions of higher education.

Pacheco has prepared for college by taking both honors and advanced placement classes in history, calculus, statistics, and Spanish. Because of her interest in math and science, she has taken her academic interests outside of the classroom through her participation in the MLHS math team and Science Olympiad program. She will graduate with honors from MLHS with a 3.86 G.P.A.

Pacheco plans to use the scholarship next fall to attend the University of Washington. In recognition of her outstanding academic record, the U of W offered her the Safeco Diversity Scholarship—$7,000 each year for four years, with a total value of $28,000.

In 2003 Pacheco completed the University of Washington's School of Medicine U-Doc Summer Program. She plans to pursue a career in pediatric oncology.

Community service and church activities are also important to Pacheco. She has assisted the elderly with yard work through the Volunteer Chore program at Catholic Family and Child Services. She has helped at the local food bank and given her time to help raise money for children who need school supplies and medical care. Her love for children has encouraged her to spend time with elementary students through the "Buddy Reading Program and the Washington Reading Corps. In addition to attending school and her participation in extra-curricular activities, she works part-time at Baskin Robbins.

Pearl M. Hill grew up in Portland and participated in the Upward Bound program at the University of Oregon. She earned her degree from the U of O and later became the director of the Upward Bound Program there. She served in that position for 24 years, assisting low income and first generation students gain access to a higher education.

Hill's passion for the program set her on a mission to expand Upward Bound services in the Pacific Northwest. She was the founding President of NASP and the founding Secretary of the Washington D.C. based Council for Opportunity in Education. Hill remained active in the programs until her death in 1999.

Donations can be made to the scholarship fund by mailing them to Clevonne Jackson, Portland State University/EOP, P.O. Box 751, Portland, OR 97207-0751. Donations are tax deductible and acknowledged by receipt.