Andrea Pantoja named 2013 Gates Millennium Scholar
By: Jose G. Landa
An Eagle Pass Business Journal News Story/Copyright 2013
Eagle Pass High School senior Andrea Lissette Pantoja was named as a 2013 Gates Millennium Scholar by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation of Fairfax, Virginia, announced Eagle Pass High School Head Counselor, Luis E. Sifuentes.
Andrea Lissette Pantoja is the daughter of Jesse and Margarita Pantoja of Eagle Pass, Texas.
She is an exemplary student, daughter, and citizen dedicated and committed to helping the less fortunate, particularly those in need of medical and physical assistance. Pantoja is also a Career and Technology Education student in the Health Careers Program of the Eagle Pass Independent School District.
Andrea Lissette Pantoja was nominated for the Gates Millennium Scholars Program by her Eagle Pass High School Advanced Placement English-IV teacher, Patricia Salinas. “Andrea is an outstanding writer and student in my Advanced Placement-IV English class. She is very focused and determined in excelling in her studies and loves to help her classmates. She is very deserving of this prestigious scholarship and will represent it and this community very high in her collegiate and professional development,” said Salinas.
Writing her letter of recommendation for the Gates Millennium Scholars Program was local attorney and Eagle Pass Business Journal Publisher, Ricardo E. Calderon. “There is not a more deserving student than Andrea Lissette Pantoja to be named a Gates Millennium Scholar. Andrea is the first in her family to be going to college and seeks to pursue a career as a Physical Therapist or in health care services. She is an extraordinary student and person with high morals and values. She loves to help younger students and the sick in the community. She is the epitome of what a Gates Millennium Scholar should be and an outstanding community volunteer through school, church, and community organizations. I am deeply honored to have recommended her to the nationally prestigious Gates Millennium Scholars Program,” said Calderon.
“I am deeply honored and privileged to be named a 2013 Gates Millennium Scholar and to have two wonderful mentors such as Patricia Salinas and Ricardo E. Calderon support my application and believe in me,” said Andrea Lissette Pantoja. “I plan to attend Texas State University to pursue a Physical Therapist degree and license, or, in the alternative, seek a career in health care,’ said Andrea Lissette Pantoja.
