Santa Maria student earns full-ride scholarship to Yale University

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- A Santa Maria high school student earns a full scholarship to Yale University.

Evelyn Letona Robles, a Pioneer Valley High School senior was rewarded with a full-ride scholarship to Yale University.

Robles ranked first in the Class of 2021 with a weighted GPA of 4.83.

The AVID student says she achieved this despite many challenges.

Robles is the daughter of immigrant parents. She says she will be a first-generation college student.

She won the prestigious QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship, a program that connects high-achieving seniors from low-income backgrounds with full four-year scholarships to the nation’s top educational institutions.

1,464 finalists were selected as Match Scholarship Recipients at 42 colleges/universities, with 72 matched to Yale.

“I am humbled and honored to be the first QuestBridge scholar for Pioneer Valley High School,’’ said Robles, “This is an opportunity of a lifetime and I am extremely excited to continue my education at Yale. I want to give special thanks to my parents, the teachers, the school district, and the AVID program for preparing me for the rigors of an Ivy League education. I hope that my example can inspire other Santa Maria youth to follow their academic and collegiate dreams.”

Robles says she will major in Political Science.

According to her AVID advisor, Kevin Ilac, Robles says she hopes to build on her advocacy skillset and go into law or government to help create systemic change and fight for equality.

“Evelyn is a student advocate for equality and a social justice fighter in the making,’’ Kevin Ilac, the Panther Social Science Department Co-Chair and Avid Advisor said. “She is an academic stalwart who is revered by students and staff and one of the finest students ever to grace the halls of PV. She becomes the first student in our school’s history to be accepted to Yale University.”