Alejandro Rojas, the salutatorian, not only got accepted into Yale, a university with a highly selective acceptance rate of just 4.35 percent, but he also received acceptance from Stanford University, which boasts an even more rigorous acceptance rate of 3.68 percent. Rojas’ remarkable academic feat was made even more noteworthy as he became one of the recipients of the highly coveted Gates Scholarship.

This scholarship, designed to benefit outstanding minority high school seniors, selected only 750 winners out of over 51,000 applicants. Rojas, being one of those selected, was praised by Superintendent Damian Kennedy, who expressed great pride in the achievement.

Kennedy declared, “A student in our building, with our textbooks and our teachers and classrooms, can do what they want when they want to do it.” He praised Rojas and pointed out that this accomplishment serves as an inspiration and a testament to the effectiveness of the Bogota School Board’s strategies and efforts to promote academic excellence.

In addition to Rojas’ achievement, Superintendent Kennedy shared other commendable news. Senior Ahmadine Fernandez, a standout in athletics, received a Division One scholarship to continue her running career at Monmouth University, a considerable achievement for both Fernandez and the Bogota athletic department.

Further, the superintendent reported on four high school students who marched at MetLife and graduated from the local community college. The school plans to honor these students, along with their teachers of the year and retirees, at their June meeting.

Among other updates, the board announced the upcoming spring concerts and a combined Steam and Bixby concert. These events are now being held in the high school auditorium for the first time since the pandemic.