He was awarded a Gates Fellowship, sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The scholarship will cover all college attendance costs not covered by other financial aid or expected family contribution as determined by the Free Federal Student Aid application, or methodology used by the college or university from an academic, according to the scholarship website. It can be applied to tuition, fees, room, meals, books, transportation, and some personal expenses.

“This is truly an amazing scholarship that I would tell younger students to apply for,” Rolando said. “I’m very grateful, and I’m (happy) to be a Gates Fellow, because (achieving her educational goals is) probably an opportunity I wouldn’t have had without her.”

The scholarship is awarded annually to 300 exceptional minority students from low-income households to help them achieve their maximum potential, according to the website. The student must be eligible for the Pell scholarship and must be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident. They must be in good standing with a minimum cumulative weighted GPA of 3.3 on a scale of 4.0 (or equivalent).

This is not a problem for Rolando. It has a weighted GPA of 4.5 / 4.0, an unweighted GPA of 4.0 / 4.0 and ranks first in its class. He was recognized as a governor’s scholarship this spring. He took four college courses – medical imaging, pathology, anatomy, and pharmacology – under the High School Alliance program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and earned A’s in all four.