Toriana Hollie and Emily Mendez from Quest Academy High School are looking into going into the academic exploration program. Photo via Daryl Wilson From the Bradley Newsroom. 
Joseph Heerman and Ana Meza from Peoria High School are respectively looking to major in biomedical science pre-medicine and criminology. Photo via Daryl Wilson From the Bradley Newsroom. 
From Richwoods High School Teyi Lawson wants to study mechanical engineering and robotics and Abigail Maher is interested in biomedical science. Photo via Daryl Wilson From the Bradley Newsroom. 
Sarai Cardona Sainz from Manual High School is interested in study civil engineering. Photo via Daryl Wilson From the Bradley Newsroom.
Bradley University gave seven Peoria-area high school students full-tuition scholarships for the third year in a row, honoring them as this year’s Hometown Scholars.
On March 15, President Stephen Standifird and Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Warren Anderson surprised the recipients with the scholarships.
The 2022 Hometown Scholars are Sarai Cardona Sainz from Manual High School, Joseph Heerman and Ana Meza from Peoria High School, Toriana Hollie and Emily Mendez from Quest Academy High School and Teyi Lawson and Abigail Maher from Richwoods High School.
It was Anderson’s first time joining the annual ceremony for Hometown Scholars. He says that prospective students from underrepresented backgrounds have more opportunities than ever to pursue higher education with awards like these.
“I want, for the most part, every one of those students graduating every year to see Bradley as a viable option,” Anderson said. “The one thing we don’t want to have is students saying, ‘Bradley is unattainable because I can’t afford to go there.’”
To be a Hometown Scholar, students in the four public high schools in Peoria must be admitted to Bradley, show financial need and be in an underrepresented demographic at the university.
The students honored this year have a range of academic backgrounds. Sainz is looking to study civil engineering, while Hollie and Mendez could join Bradley in the academic exploration program.
Heerman and Meza are respectively looking to major in biomedical science pre-medicine and criminology, Lawson wants to study mechanical engineering and robotics and Maher is interested in biomedical science.
Anderson recalls first meeting the Hometown Scholars and listening to their personal stories and experiences that day.
“It was amazing that we gave scholarships to seven really deserving, amazing students,” Anderson said. “It was a surprise to all of them. The story was different for all of them. In one institution, one young lady just thought she was there for an assembly with her English class.”
Another recipient thought they had to interview for the scholarship. Anderson said that the stories of these potential students were unique to them.
“The stories they tell, the value they’re going to add to this institution, it really is just going to push the work that we have to do for DEI further,” Anderson said. “It’s an opportunity for the university to bring in students to the university that most schools are clamoring for.”
The scholarship connects Bradley to Peoria public schools but Anderson is looking to take Bradley’s commitment to DEI even further.
“If we do eight [scholarships] a year, how can we do with giving out 16 [scholarships]?” Anderson said. “What other initiatives can we put forth in earlier grades to make students think about Bradley in the ninth grade, in the sixth grade, in the fifth grade?”
As Anderson sees it, these Hometown Scholars can be key in putting the Bradley name into public schools even more.
