Maria Barragan-Santana, who will have her tuition fees will be eased by a scholarship from the Ibero-American Action League Inc. worth $2,000 over four years scholarship winners, said she hopes the award will help break some stereotypes of Hispanics.

"I think people look down upon the Hispanic community," she said. "I think it's important to show we are capable of doing many things."

Barragan-Santana certainly is.

The 17-year-old from Pittsford has been accepted to Harvard University, where she plans to study biomedical engineering.

Barragan-Santana said her life story is like the American dream.

She and her family immigrated to this country from Guadalajara, Mexico, when she was 4.

"We came here with basically nothing, and I had to learn English and everything," she said.

"My grandfather, he's like, '(Harvard is) the school that they show in all the movies!'"

Barragan-Santana will be joined at the school by Gabriel Treviño of Rochester, who will be graduating this month from Joseph C. Wilson Magnet High School.

Treviño, 17, said he felt "surprise and pride" after being accepted to Harvard.

"It's kind of weird being like, 'I can go there,'" he said. "It's kind of a disconnect."

Treviño, who also received the $2,000 Ibero scholarship, said he is thinking of possibly studying to become a math or history teacher.

He said he has enjoyed high school, where he has devoted a lot of time to the robotics team.

"I'm kind of taking everything in stride," Treviño said. "High school has been pretty good to me. I'm not sad to leave it, but I'm just going with it."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1337194&forum_id=1#15233804)

http://harvard.listserv.org/threads/view/534

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1337194&forum_id=1#15234958)