“This invitation to become a Golden Apple Scholar is a singular honor,” Jim Sorensen, director of the Golden Apple Foundation, wrote in an acceptance letter Dalia received on March 23.

Dalia was “selected in an intense and competitive process that seeks the best and brightest young women and men in Illinois who want to learn to teach from master practitioners for eventual work in schools of need throughout Illinois,” Mr. Sorensen said. More than 1,600 students were nominated.

The program will provide Dalia with financial support for college tuition, as well as extensive supplementary education, classroom experience, mentoring and peer networking. At the Golden Apple Summer Institutes, Dalia will spend five weeks of every summer vacation immersing herself in teaching in a residential experience at DePaul University. She is planning to attend Illinois State University to obtain her bachelor’s degree in elementary special education.

Senior and Star co-editor-in-chief Dalia Mena celebrates her scholarship. In above photo she poses with her counselor Deono Powell.