Senior Offered Over $500k in Scholarships

MOUNT VERNON – Mia Vaquero, senior at Mount Vernon High School, is graduating with a 90.71 in June 2023. She has committed to John Jay College of Criminal Justice with a full-ride scholarship. She plans to major in criminal justice with the hope of becoming an FBI agent.

She will be the first person in her family to pursue higher education. Mia’s family is from Mexico, and they had to work constantly to make ends meet. She saw how hard her parents worked for her, and it inspired her to find something that she will enjoy while providing for her family.

Her favorite accomplishment from her time in high school was achieving the Principal’s Honor Roll. After being diagnosed with a learning disability, Mia had to work harder than her peers to achieve the same success. In her freshman year, she struggled and did not get good grades. Despite this, she spent hours studying to ensure that she graduated at the top of her class.

To stay ahead, Mia has attended after school classes and worked closely with her teachers to ensure high grades. Mia attributes some of her success to her teachers helping through the complex college application process. She was worried about getting financial aid but had the support needed to apply and receive it.

“Since we have Dr. (Pauline) Pearce as our principal now, it’s definitely helped,” said Mia.

“She has built workshops to help us fill out FAFSA, how to choose colleges and how to get more money for college. And I have many teachers who helped me with my scholarships, essays and honors programs.”

Mia also donates her time by helping at food pantries and handing out food for the church to support the community.

Mia was accepted into 15 schools, received five full-rides and was offered a cumulative $500,000 in scholarships.

When she was little, she never imagined being able to tell people she got into 15 schools, and now she has the opportunity to go to college for free.