Isaura Jimenez, a senior at Odyssey, the Essential School, is the recipient of a $10,000 scholarship from the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) --the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. Isaura is one of just two students in the country to receive the Emerging Latino Leaders scholarship sponsored by NCLR and Best Buy Children’s Foundation. The scholarship was created to support Latino youth who are equally committed to academic achievement and volunteerism.

While at Odyssey, Isaura has served as her school’s representative on the superintendent’s student advisory council. She has not decided on which college she will attend next year but has applied to Western Washington University, College of the Atlantic in Maine, University of Puget Sound, and Reed College.