Autumn Pagan was overjoyed to find that she won the prestigious Gates Scholarship on Monday April 20. The Gates Scholarship is a highly selective program for students with exceptional leadership skills that is allowing Pagan to attend UCLA on a full ride. 

Over 61,000 students applied, and 750 won, making Pagan part of the 1.2% of winners. The application process was long-winded with so many candidates.

“I had to fill in all of my coursework, explain my extracurriculars and how many hours I participate in them a week. I had to write five essays, which, the maximum was like 450 words. And then I also had to get two recommendations from teachers,” said Pagan.

During the Finalist portion, Pagan also had to complete an interview, explaining her future goals and her involvement in her community.

According to the Gates Scholarship website, “An ideal candidate will have: An outstanding academic record in high school (in the top 10% of his/her graduating class), demonstrated leadership ability (e.g., as shown through participation in community service, extracurricular, or other activities), [and] exceptional personal success skills (e.g., emotional maturity, motivation, perseverance, etc.).”

With all of her skills, Pagan wants to double-major in communications and would like to continue with journalism, specifically The Daily Bruin, UCLA’s student-run newspaper. 

“I used to not like writing at all. But when I joined Journalism, I really found a passion for it. I want to be a novelist, and I want to write books that people can see themselves in because I feel like that’s something I didn’t get a lot of as a kid,” said Pagan.

MECA wishes Pagan the best of luck in her new chapter at UCLA and a great last few months in high school.