SENIOR AWARDED SPECIAL SCHOLARSHIP

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January 18, 2024

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here. 

Academic record, strength of application essays, community service and personal qualities among scholarship criteria.

Notre Dame Prep senior Jennifer Gaytan has been awarded a college scholarship sponsored by the Ric Gonzalez Memorial Foundation, joining a long list of Notre Dame Prep students who have earned the annual award.

The foundation, which since 2004 has been providing college scholarships to high school students in southeast Michigan, was formed after the passing of Ric Gonzalez, co-founder of automotive- and aerospace-supplier Gonzalez Design Group, based in Madison Heights. 

So far, according to the foundation, more than 195 scholarships have been awarded totaling $753,000. The foundation designates the scholarship funds for use toward whichever college or university each student chooses to attend and can be used for tuition, room and board as well as books and other necessary school supplies.

Since the scholarship was established, the RGMF has been providing scholarships to deserving Hispanic youth in southeast Michigan planning to attend a college or university of their choice. Applicants are evaluated on the following criteria: academic record, strength of application essays, community service and personal qualities.
 
Last year, seniors Xochitl Aranda, Diego Betancourt, Morgan Bissett, Julissa Diaz-Macias, Alondra Pedroza and Jose Turrubiartes Tapia were awarded the scholarship.

Gaytan, who has participated in FIRST Robotics, Vex Robotics, SWENext Club, Art Club and varsity golf, is vice president of NDP's Society of Women Engineers club, and a youth coordinator for Youth Against Cancer. She's also received special awards such as a Gold Key and Honorable Mention from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for her artwork.

The Pontiac resident also has been a caddie at Oakland Hills Country Club for three years and was named the club's female caddie of the year in 2024.

Gaytan readily admits a passion for both math and art, which has informed her decision to choose mechanical engineering as a college major. She hopes to matriculate in the fall to the University of Michigan.

More on the scholarship is at the foundation’s website: www.rgmf.net or call 248-548-3160 for more information.

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

About Notre Dame Preparatory School
"At Notre Dame Prep, we inspire our students to become the best versions of themselves. We challenge them through an experience of academic excellence, focused on active, project-based learning. We invite them to explore a world of opportunities beyond the classroom. We guide them as they grow in spirituality within a community strong in its Catholic and Marist identity."

Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame Prep's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDP is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School, visit the school’s home page at www.ndprep.org.