Paterson students get scholarships to Dartmouth and Wesleyan
PATERSON — Lucy Cano-Bartolo of Paterson will become the first person from her family to go to college when she starts classes next fall.
And she will be breaking her family’s college barrier in a big way — by going to the prestigious Ivy League as a student at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.
Cano-Bartolo is one of two students from Paterson’s International High School who will be attending prestigious colleges with full scholarships from QuestBridge, a California nonprofit group that helps teens from lowincome families attend America’s leading universities.
International High’s Nairenny Jimenez will be going to Wesleyan University in Connecticut through a QuestBridge scholarship, officials said.
“My family is extremely hardworking and has not failed to show me that no matter the circumstances, we can succeed in life,” said Jimenez, who performs community service at the Father English food pantry in Paterson.
Cano-Bartolo’s family immigrated from Mexico.
“I’m very excited, very proud of myself; it makes me feel like I accomplished something, especially for my family,” said Cano-Bartolo. “My family has always wanted the best for me, so they’re very proud of what I’ve done.”
Despite having some of the lowest test scores in the state, Paterson Public Schools during the past decade has been able to send more than a dozen students to Ivy League and other prestigious universities.
“Paterson Public Schools has in it many fine examples of determined and wholly focused students,” said Superintendent Laurie Newell.