The video above is from the Lieutenant Governor’s office, spotlighting a program in which a local student has just been chosen to participate. Here’s the announcement:

This week, Lieutenant Governor Cyrus Habib’s office selected Jennifer Aguilar Bamaca for the Washington World Fellows 2019 cohort.

This year’s winners were selected from nearly 200 nominees from throughout the state. To be considered for the program, students had to be nominated by a teacher or school counselor, and complete a rigorous application process that includes written essays, a personal interview, and a video submission. Nearly all of this year’s fellows will be the first in their families to attend college.

Jennifer, a student at Chief Sealth International High School, is both a student and a boxer, who enjoys learning about her Guatemalan heritage. She was selected for the program based on her enthusiasm for education, and desire to become a leader in her community. In her application she said she is excited for both the opportunity to study abroad, and the academic support to achieve her goal of being the first in her family to go to college.

The fellowship provides students with a study abroad experience in León, Spain during the summer between grades 10 and 11, followed by two years of college readiness and leadership development programming. The Washington World Fellows program was created by the office of Lt. Governor Habib in 2018, and is part of the office’s larger goal of expanding opportunities in higher education throughout Washington.

Jennifer is the only member of this year’s cohort from a Seattle school. The 2018 cohort also included a Sealth student, Luis Bravo Espinoza, spotlighted here in February for his time in Olympia as a State Senate Page.