Anastasia Rodriguez is a senior who has been named a Daniel’s Fund scholar for 2025 to help fund her further education at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. 

Following her graduation, Rodriguez is attending CSU for animal science and equine science. 

Rodriguez started her application process in September. From there, she found out she was a semi-finalist in November. “After finding out I was a semi-finalist, I had to write different essays based on separate prompts. Once I found out I made it through to the finals, I was scheduled for an in person interview,” Rodriguez stated. 

Once she found out in early April that she was a recipient of the scholarship she felt a lot of “relief,” This was because, “it was a lot of gratitude knowing that I won’t have to really worry about paying for college at all,” Rodriguez stated.  

When it comes to meeting the criteria that the Daniel Foundation holds for their applicants Rodriguez was told she resonated with Bill Daniel himself. “They wanted their recipients to have loyalty and integrity along with other stuff; during the interview, they said I resonated with Bill himself along with his values and belief,” Rodriguez said. 

Ms. Alexandra Grimes is one of the agriculture teachers at West, along with being one of the FFA sponsors. She has had the opportunity to watch Rodriguez grow over time. “Anastasia has always been a student who’s gone above and beyond in her education. When it comes to her leadership abilities, she takes initiative to want to know more and go deeper in all of her activities,” Grimes explained 

When starting to get to know Rodriguez, Grimes explained she was more on the quiet side but grew. “She started more quietly and timid, but she’s really grown and now she’s a rock star in every aspect,” Grimes stated. 

When Grimes heard Rodriguez was Daniel’s recipient she was super excited for her. “I was excited for her because I know that it’s so huge and it’s going to open so many opportunities for her,” Grimes said.