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ROWLAND UNIFIED ANNOUNCES NOGALES HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS GATES SCHOLARSHIP
Victor Martinez Receives Full Scholarship to Northwestern University
LA PUENTE, CA – MAY 8, 2025 – For the 10th time, the prestigious Gates Scholarship has been awarded to a Nogales High School senior in the Rowland Unified School District. Victor Martinez, who plans to attend Northwestern University, is one of only 750 students chosen from across the nation for this highly selective, last-dollar scholarship for outstanding minority students that provides funding for the full cost of attendance to the college of their choice. The Gates Scholarship includes tuition, fees, room, board, books, transportation, and other potential personal costs. In addition, the scholarship provides mentoring and networking resources for their entire college experience through graduation and the transition to their chosen careers.
“I was at my aunt’s house on Easter when I checked my phone and saw the headline GATES and Congratulations. I rushed outside to share with my parents and the rest of my family this incredible opportunity,” said Martinez, who lives in La Puente. “What I am most excited about is now I don’t have to worry about finances when choosing my college and I can go to any of the colleges I was accepted to and graduate debt free!” And what choices this amazing young scholar has, accepted to Northwestern, Notre Dame, UCLA, and wait-listed at Yale and Stanford. Martinez is thrilled with his selection of Northwestern, one of the country’s top research and teaching institutions and looks forward to exploring a new state to which he has never travelled.
With his mind attuned to mathematics from an early age, Martinez plans to study engineering with a focus on mechanical or civil engineering. He believes his passion for all things technical is thanks to his father who is in the construction trade.
At Nogales High School, Victor is involved in everything that Nogales has to offer… athletics, clubs, advanced academic coursework and more. He is both an International Baccalaureate (IB) and AP student, has taken part in soccer, robotics, engineering, the California Scholarship Federation (CSF) club and the school’s Student Advocacy Union. During his junior year, he attended the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Youth Leadership Institute, a week-long leadership program for high-achieving juniors preparing for top universities. He was also selected as a Thrive Scholar, another prestigious accolade with admission into the Thrive Summer Academy for two summers at top colleges in the nation. Last summer he was able to live and study on the campus of Amherst College in Massachusetts for six weeks, learning from college professors with intense studies and college advising support. He will be attending the second Thrive Summer Academy after graduation at the University of Miami.
“My Mom and Dad and siblings have been so supportive of me and are my inspiration. They look up to me and I always try to set a good example for them. They are the reason I push myself to these limits,” said Martinez.