McMinnville High senior wins $1,000 scholarship by expressing his GRADitude

Daniel Lobatos, a senior at McMinnville High School, has been selected to receive a $1,000 college scholarship from OSBA for his video expressing GRADitude.
 
In his video Lobatos thanks Juanita Clarno, a teacher at the McMinnville School District’s Engineering & Aerospace Sciences Academy (EASA), for her support and dedication. 

“She was really like a second mom to me,” Lobatos says in the video. “She didn’t give up on me.”

Lobatos intends to pursue a major of mechanical engineering at Oregon State University. He will be the first person in his immediate family to attend college.

The GRADitude video contest is part of The Promise of Oregon’s efforts to encourage state high school students to graduate. Students statewide were asked to create videos thanking a key person in their life who had helped keep them on track to graduate. Other GRADitude videos can be seen on the Promise website.
 
The Promise campaign, which debuted in November 2014, aims to create public support for K-14 education, to help meet the state’s 40-40-20 goals and lift student achievement and graduation rates.