Jonathan Rodriguez Mota hugs his mother Armida after learning he’d been awarded a Catalyst Scholarship to OSU. More photos at columbiagorgenews.com.
Martin Gibson photo
THE DALLES — Someone handed an odd message to Jonathan Rodriguez Mota, a senior at The Dalles High School, during class on Tuesday morning: Could he come to ASPIRE Room 122?
Wondering if he’d somehow scheduled an appointment, as Jonathan later said, he opened the door to a delegation from Oregon State University (OSU) led by Brian Ixtalhuac, his beaming parents, ASPIRE coordinator Elaine Powrie, and the school principal and superintendent.
He’d won a Catalyst Scholarship to OSU — $10,000 a year for up to five years, aimed at helping him complete a five-year engineering degree with internships. Just 15 students were awarded from a pool of over 300 applicants.
His parents, Armida and Jorge, had known for two weeks and had to keep quiet about it while Jonathan filed local scholarship applications.
“Launched in 2020, the Catalyst Scholars Program was created by Oregon State University’s College of Engineering in partnership with key donors to support high-achieving students with significant financial need,” read a press release. “The program addresses a growing need within the college, where enrollment and diversity have increased rapidly in recent years.”
“Catalyst Scholarships award is one of the most prestigious awards in the College of Engineering,” Ixtalhuac said. “[We] thought about what makes a holistic engineer. We came to the conclusion that we wanted to offer you a spot.”
One in four engineering students at OSU has high financial need, almost half from underrepresented backgrounds and many first-generation college students.
Traditional financial aid often isn’t enough to get students through all five years of an engineering degree, the press release noted. This scholarship fills the gap. Applicants must be Oregon residents.
Rodriguez Mota plans study Mechanical Engineering, joining his older brother Geovanni, (who also won a prestigious scholarship) in the engineering program at OSU.
“This recognition reflects Jonathan’s hard work, dedication, and bright future ahead. We are incredibly proud of his achievement and excited to see all that he will accomplish,” said Superintendent Carolyn Bernal.
“I didn’t realize what was going on, I was like ‘Oh, what is this?’ till I saw Brian standing right there and I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh!” Jonathan said. “It’s so much more than I could ask for.”
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