Miami, May 16, 2019 – Miami Dade College (MDC) North Campus student, Maria Restrepo, has been awarded the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship, a national scholarship that provides recipients with up to $7,500 per year for up to two years to complete a bachelor’s degrees and pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering.
Restrepo was selected from an estimated applicant pool of more than 5,000 students across the country. She is a North Campus Honors College student pursuing a degree in chemistry. Excelling academically, she has maintained a 4.0 grade point average while participating in extra-curricular activities on and off campus. Restrepo is a Bridge to the Baccalaureate Program scholar, a member of Minority Association for Pre-Health Students organization, a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society, STEM Institute for Scholastic Leadership Experience scholar, as well as a STEM Ambassador on campus. She was honored with a Certification of Achievement for Outstanding Poster Presentation during the 2018 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, which is one of the largest communities of underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the nation.
A graduate of MDC’s Class of 2019, Restrepo plans to continue her studies in bio-chemistry and ultimately obtain a doctorate in neuroscience. She has been accepted to various top universities, including the University of Michigan, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and the University of Florida. Her lifelong career aspiration is to conduct research to develop new treatments for individuals with neurological injuries or disorders.
Goldwater Scholars have impressive academic and research credentials that have garnered the attention of prestigious post-graduate fellowship programs. Goldwater Scholars have been awarded 92 Rhodes Scholarships, 137 Marshall Awards, 159 Churchill Scholarships, 104 Hertz Fellowships, and numerous other distinguished awards, such as the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships.
The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established in 1986. The Scholarship program honoring Senator Barry Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. The Goldwater Scholarship is the preeminent undergraduate award of its type in these fields. For more information, visit https://goldwater.scholarsapply.org.