In the News: NHS seniors named Ford Scholars

The obstacles Jose Saavedra and Dakota Train have already faced and overcome in their youth have shaped who they are as people and the lives they intend to live.

Apparently that came across loud and clear to the decision makers at the Ford Family Foundation, who selected the Newberg High School seniors to be Ford Scholars and receive what will be life-changing scholarships to college.

The pair were among the 186 students chosen to be interviewed from the original 4,026 applicants and two of the 106 seniors to be awarded renewable scholarships covering 90 percent of their unmet financial need. The average award for first-year students is $8,448.

Saavedra was also one of 20 finalists for the Act Six scholarship program at George Fox University, but his hopes for that award were ultimately dashed.

“I was pretty upset, but I still had faith there was something for me,” Saavedra said. “I am very thankful to God that this happened to me because without the scholarship I don’t know what I would’ve done. It’s a huge blessing for me and my family.”

Two of the major formative forces in Saavedra’s life have been his father, who worked diligently for years to bring his two sons and wife to the United States legally in 2005, and the ensuing challenge of being a student who didn’t speak English upon arriving in the country.

It was working in fields and gardens that sparked a drive for education in Saavedra, who will attend Pacific University to major in pre-medicine and business.

Realizing it wasn’t something he cared to do pushed him, at first in the English Language Learners program after finishing his first year at Mabel Rush Elementary School. He credits ELL and the district’s migrant program for laying the foundation for his success, which has been immense.

From hosting a free health clinic at NHS for his senior project, to being an active member of the school chapter of Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan (MEChA), a culture and leadership club, and helping to host its state convention, Saavedra has jumped feet first into community service, which resulted in the Chehalem Valley Chamber of Commerce naming him its Junior Citizen of the Year in March.

“He’s kind, respectful and pretty much on target for everything,” retiring silver school counselor Kay Johnston said. “He’s one of our aides and he’s just always smiling. There’s always something positive coming out of his mouth. He’s a great kid and so deserving of this.”
Saavedra was moved to apply for the student seat on the Newberg Planning Commission, to which he was later appointed by Mayor Bob Andrews and the City Council, after visiting Washington, D.C., through the migrant program.

Johnston foresees a future in public service, especially after seeing how Saavedra approached a task force with Gov. John Kitzhaber. Saavedra vowed to Johnston that he was going to meet Kitzhaber, dismissing her note that he would be just one of 100 students participating.

“He said, ‘I’m going to meet him because it’s important,’” Johnston said. “The next morning I had a picture of him and the governor together on my computer. He’s just that kind of kid.”

A standout athlete, Train didn’t encounter some of his defining obstacles until this time a year ago, when he broke his ankle at the start of his summer season playing for the Oregon All-Star rugby team, the Red Hawks.

After powering through rehab in time to take to the gridiron for his senior year of football, Train was set back again in the third game of the season.

Initially diagnosed as a pulled muscle, it wasn’t until he finally received a CAT scan in January that revealed he had broken his back, specifically fractures to the T11 and T12 vertebrae.

For the second time in less than a year, he was back in physical therapy, which brought his previously broad life plans better into focus.

“Getting to spend a lot of time with those people and just the amount of work they were able to do for me to bring me back to where I wanted to be, was just really eye opening,” Train said. “So I see myself in a very similar place, whether it’s physical therapy or athletic training.”

Train, who will study exercise science at Oregon State University, returned to have a successful senior campaign on the rugby field and has been selected again to play for the Red Hawks.

A member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the NHS Link Crew, a student group that assists in the orientation and transition of incoming freshmen, it was serving as a Blue School representative on Associated Student Body (student government) that honed his public speaking skills, preparing him for the 10-minute interview portion of the Ford Scholar application.

“Whether it be in front of 1,600 people or three judges, just being able to keep it calm and convey to them who I am in the best of ways was my approach,” Train said. “I felt the pressure. It was definitely there with the process, the competition, and then the money attached to it is kind of overwhelming.”

by Seth Gordon, Newberg Graphic