Two Midland ISD seniors have been awarded scholarships at the Midland Young Leaders Challenge. Eliana Aguila, a rising senior from Midland High School, received $3,000 in scholarship money from the Four Star Leader Award. Kip Cohlmia, a rising senior from Legacy High School, won $1,000 in the OpEd Writing Contest.
According to a news release from Midland ISD, Aguila will now compete in next month’s Four Star Leadership conference at the General Tommy Franks Institute in Oklahoma. Aguila is a senior class officer, a member of the Spanish Honor Society, and participates in varsity cross country.
"The students and speakers were so great, it was really nice to network and meet students from across Midland and interact with them and exchange ideas," Aguila said of the program. "A lot of the speakers talked about the importance of effective communication, so that really resonated and helped me gain confidence in my public speaking."
Aguila is spending her summer as an intern at the I-20 Wildlife Preserve and hopes to put that experience to use by studying environmental engineering in college, according to the news release. Over the past three summers, she has been involved with Midland College's Kids' College where she has honed leadership skills and personal development. The Midland Young Leaders Challenge focuses on developing critical skills in persuasive communication, character, and leadership. It invited 30 seniors from the area to compete after a thorough application process.