Cigarroa students earn National Hispanic Scholar Recognition

Caption: CHS administration congratulate Brandon Romero and Enrique Alvarez on their NHRP recognition. Pictured left to right are Rogelio Garcia, CHS counselor; Brandon Romero; Enrique Alvarez; Cynthia Davila, CHS counselor; and John Eric Salinas, CHS principal.

Two seniors at Cigarroa High School have been recognized by the College Board's National Hispanic Recognition Program. Cigarroa High School is proud to announce Enrique Alvarez and Brandon Romero as this year's scholars.

Alvarez and Romero were among nearly 5,000 students selected from a pool of over 200,000 students who took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) and identified themselves as Hispanic/Latino. To qualify for the program, a student must be at least one-quarter Hispanic, have earned a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or higher, and meet their state's cutoff scores on their critical reading, mathematics, and writing skills on the PSAT/NMSQT.

Cigarroa High School students, faculty, staff, and administration congratulate these two young students. "Brandon and Enrique are fine representatives of Cigarroa High School and LISD," said Cynthia Davila, Cigarroa High School Counselor. "They are fine young men who continually demonstrate academic excellence, belong to numerous organizations, have vision and ambition for themselves and are multi-talented."

Alvarez is the son of Enrique and Xochitl Alvarez. Enrique plans to pursue a degree in English at Texas State University. Alvarez's academic achievement's includes National Honor Society and perfect attendance. Enrique is also a member of the Cigarroa High Power Lifting team. He attended Cigarroa Middle School and Ligarde Elementary School.

Brandon is the son of Israel and San Juana Romero. He is interested in pursuing a degree in Political Science from Williams College in Williamstown Massachusetts. Romero's academic achievement's includes Honor Roll, National Honor Society, and is ranked third in his class. Brandon's extra-curricular activities include Orchestra, VMT Government Club, VMT Senior Class President. Romero attended Zachry Elementary School.

According to Davila, taking the PSAT/NMSQT Test as juniors allows students to see for themselves where they rate academically in comparison to other juniors all over this state and country. For some, like Brandon & Enrique who achieve national standing, it is the time to make final selections of colleges or universities as being a National Hispanic Scholar opens the door to many opportunities. Taking a test like the PSAT is the first important step in planning for the future.

Both Enrique and Brandon expressed their excitement about the recognition.

"It's a good honor. Receiving this recognition has helped colleges contact us," Romero said. "It has opened my eyes. I am now more aware of the application process."