In Orange County, more than 500 students have been admitted to the nation’s top 20 colleges and universities and service academies since 2021. Each school year, these students are recognized as “Super Scholars,” a program to celebrate academic achievements and admittance to a top school.
Recognizing the value Super Scholar alumni have, District 2 School Board Member Maria Salamanca, as a Super Scholar alumna herself, is sponsoring the re-launch of the Super Scholars Success Initiative. First started by Salamanca and her fellow OCPS alumna Jomayra Herrera as recent college graduates in 2016, the program paused in 2020 while the pandemic affected in-person events. The revived initiative will seek to prepare recent Super Scholar graduates for a transition from high school classroom to college lecture hall.
The media is invited to attend the Super Scholars Success Initiative kickoff event Sunday, July 28 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. in the School Board Room at the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center at 445 W. Amelia, Orlando 32801.
Media can RSVP at https://superscholars2024.rsvpify.com/.
The program will kick off with an alumni panel discussion on the college experience and adjusting to college. More than 50 alumni and members of the 2024 graduating Super Scholar class are expected to attend.
Dariel Cruz Rodriguez, a rising third year at the University of Chicago and alumnus of Colonial High School, is spearheading the revival of the legacy program with the support of Salamanca.
“This is a valuable cohort of alumni. Super Scholar alumni have attended schools like Princeton, Harvard, and even my school UChicago, and have gone on to work at some of the highest levels of government and the corporate world. That’s why it’s important we offer mentorship between these decorated alumni and our newly-minted Super Scholars,”
Cruz Rodriguez said.
The program, supported by both Salamanca and the district’s Foundation, is recruiting Orange County graduates who are attending or have attended a top school to offer mentorship opportunities and host college application workshops.
“This is all part of giving back to the school communities that have done so much for us when we were students in the district,” said Maria Salamanca, District 2 School Board Member.
For inquiries to the Foundation for OCPS, please contact Debi Pedraza at
[email protected].
For inquiries to Member Maria Salamanca or Dariel Cruz Rodriguez, please call 407.317.3458 or e-mail
[email protected].