CANYON COUNTY — Two local students were among those nationwide who received the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship this year.

Yesenia Dominguez of Caldwell and Cristina Medrano of Nampa were awarded the $220,000 scholarship.

Funded by Bill and Melinda Gates, the scholarship is targeted at students from low-income families who show significant academic achievements, leadership qualities and community service.

The award pays for students to gain a bachelor's, master's and doctorate degree at any school of their choice. Students must maintain a 3.0 grade-point average and full attendance to remain eligible for the scholarship throughout their studies.

Cristina Medrano

Cristina Medrano, 18, would not be going to college if it weren't for the Gates scholarship, despite her outstanding academic record and high grade-point average of 3.8.

Medrano said she needed a scholarship to go to college and applied for the Gates Scholarship at the recommendation of a teacher. Although it was a long process to apply, her hard work paid off and she was awarded the large scholarship.

"Now nothing can stop me, not even money," she said. "It feels like all my dreams have come true."

Medrano plans to study electrical engineering and get certified as a high school teacher. Originally she didn't think she could afford to attend any school she wanted and so she did not apply. Now, after she found out about the scholarship, she is too late to apply for this year. However, she plans to attend Utah State and then transfer to the University of California, Berkeley, for her sophomore year.

"I am also planning to get my master's and PhD degree, thanks to the scholarship that I received," she said. "I want to study abroad for at least a semester; my goal is to go to Europe and Asia."

Medrano's chemistry teacher, James Kusterer, commends her hard work and said she is very deserving of this scholarship. He is a chemistry professor at Boise State.

"It is my opinion that Miss Medrano's performance compares favorably with that of highly accomplished college science students whom I have had the privilege to instruct," he said. "In addition to her academic achievements, Miss Medrano exhibits strong organizational skills and consistently displays a very cooperative effort in group projects and laboratory experiments that always involve several of her classmates."

Medrano moved to Canyon County six years ago with her family from Mexico. She is currently a permanent resident but said she will apply for citizenship when she becomes eligible.

When she first came to the United States, Medrano did not speak English. Since then, she has become fluent in the language.

"I didn't know a word in English," she said. "It was really tough for me to do my school work; the only subject I enjoyed was math because it was all about numbers."

Despite all her own hard work, Medrano is grateful to those who helped her along the way.

Her parents are proud of her, she said, and she wants to be successful so she can help them.

"They have always sacrificed themselves to give me the things they couldn't give to my other siblings.  They don't want me to be working in tough jobs that you don't need education for," she said. "I also want to take my parents on a trip, because they have only been in Mexico and the U.S."

She has a large family with eight siblings, 16 nephews and nieces and six great-nephews and great-nieces.

"I will be the first one in my family to graduate from high school and to go to college," she said. "I want to be successful and be an example for my sister, nephews and nieces."

At Nampa High, Medrano has been involved in the Upward Bound TRIO program, First Robotics, Team-S, debate and student council. She also interned with a Boise State engineering professor last summer.

Along with her busy schedule at school, Medrano works on the weekends at Karcher Estates.

She said the best advice she can give to other students is to believe in themselves.

"Know that you are important for this world, one day you can be the person who would find the cure for AIDS, or the next president," she said. "Just don't give up."

Yesenia Dominguez

Yesenia Dominguez didn't think she had a chance to win the Gates Millennium Scholarship but decided to apply anyway, despite the lengthy application and long list of requirements.

"My senior year I was taking advantage of any scholarship opportunity that was available for me to apply to," she said. "This was a unique scholarship from the rest, for it required nine full written essays of specific questions and on top of it required leadership positions, community services ... and of course my academic grades and classes."

Dominguez is involved in the TRIO program and said they encouraged her to apply. The TRIO program offers educational opportunity outreach programs designed to motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

"Many of the TRIO family there motivated and believed in me to go for it," she said. "After this GMS opportunity it has made me realize that the impossible isn't at all."

Although Dominguez still planned to attend college if she didn't get the scholarship, her plans have changed now that she has more money at her disposal.

"My original plan for college was to go to BSU for my first two years and live at home, since I couldn't afford on-campus, and then transfer over for the dental program in Pocatello for dental hygiene at ISU," she said. "I only could go so far and, I hate to say it, but I had to limit myself in my education ... I had nowhere to turn to or even have the luxury of having options when it comes to a deciding on a school."

Now Dominguez will be able to attend Idaho State for the full duration of her undergraduate degree in dental hygiene.

"I know I want to continue into perhaps my master's, whether it be dental hygienist or a dentist," she said.

Dominguez grew up in Wilder and her family moved to Caldwell after she finished fourth grade to have a bigger home and to live closer to relatives.

One hardship Dominguez has dealt with since a young age has been cancer. At 8, she was diagnosed with undifferentiated sarcoma.

"I battled the cancer through treatments and radiation and underwent the common side effects from the chemo, loss of hair, vomit," she said.

Dominguez said she has now been cancer-free for 11 years.

"Even thought this bump on the road interrupted my life for a second, I don't make it affect me and live everyday as if it never happened to me," she said.

Dominguez said she encourages others who are going through similar experiences to have faith.

"Just like with my scholarship, it never hurt anyone to put a little faith in this," she said. "What I can say about being a cancer survivor is I hope anyone who hears my story takes this as an opportunity for them to meditate on their life and wholeheartedly appreciate their health and those around them."