This past week, the Bill Daniels Foundation named West seniors Oscar Perez Luna and Raeann Mosqueda as two of the recipients for its full-ride scholarship.

The group of winners competed against other students across Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado. Each student selected was awarded the scholarship based on a variety of standards that showed they were a well-rounded individual on the merits of substantial community involvement, leadership, academic performance and maturity.

Those chosen had to be considered strong in character, with promising futures to make a difference, much like the scholarships founder, Bill Daniels, himself.

For Perez a variety of things helped him accomplish such an achievement.  He explained, “The biggest thing that’s helped me prepare for this scholarship is my self-confidence. Since I was little, I was always pushed to not only mature quickly but make a name for myself, growing up with three older brothers. A hard work ethic and dedication to achieve a better life has been the driving factor since the beginning and anything else is nonessential.”

All winners, including Perez and Mosqueda, will be able to use their scholarship towards a four-year bachelor’s degree at any non-profit university in the United States. While Perez is still undecided on where to go to college and his major, Mosqueda intends to stay in state and go to Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction in order to receive a degree to become a social worker.

After immense amounts of hard work to get to this point the reward proves to worth it in the end, and will allow for a great foundation going into college as well as the financial burden lifted.

Mosqueda concluded that, “It honestly was one of the most uplifting feelings because as a pretty average student, I didn’t get a lot of other scholarship money. By lifting the financial burden off my family and I to pay for college was the best feeling.”