Featured Scholar

RAPHAEL PEREA
By Shawn Secatero

Raphael Perea (Laguna Pueblo) is already making great strides as an inaugural GMS scholar who is already making his mark in the world as he competed in the Intel International Science Fair.

Raphael recently graduated from Cibola High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico and was among only 1,000 of 11,000 applicants to be chosen for the seventh inaugural class of the Gates Millennium Scholarship. He is attending New Mexico Tech and plans to major in geology.   

“It was a big surprise! I’m very honored and thankful for the Gates Scholarship,” Raphael says, “Also, I would like to thank my parents for keeping me on track by supporting and providing help for all of my school activities.”

Raphael also credits his mentor, Bob Rarmenter, who works with Los Alamos National Labs, who helped him with his summer research internship in morphology and Mr. Tokada who inspired him to pursue a career in the field of science.

As part of the GMS nomination and selection process, Raphael competed against 11,000 applicants, of which only 1,000 applicants could be selected as Gates Millennium Scholars. The selection process was very competitive and the evaluators considered a wide range of factors. Nominees were evaluated by independent readers according to three primary criteria: academic achievement, community service, and leadership potential.

Raphael’s plight in education was no easy task. He was diagnosed with scarlet fever as a young child which resulted in a partial hearing impairment throughout his young life. “I always felt behind my peers when I was in school but I did the best job possible; I didn’t let my hearing loss get the most of me and I was able to finish high school with honors,” he says.

Raphael encourages students who apply for the Gates scholarship to follow their dreams and never give up. He says, “Never let anything stop you, even if you have a disability, you just have to work harder.”

Raphael’s quest to compete in the Intel INSEF held in Albuquerque was also no easy task. He competed in the National American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) Fair held here in Albuquerque and qualified as a grand award winner. His hard work and perseverance paid off and was only one of eight AISES grand award winners to advance and compete at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair held last May in Albuquerque.

His impressive research was part of a summer internship that evolved into his science project entitled, “Use of Satellite Imagery for Predicting Vegetation Productivity and Rodent Borne Disease.” The research project was part of a summer internship spent in the Los Alamos area. 

Besides his science projects, Raphael is a very busy individual and plays the violin for the New Mexico Junior Symphony Orchestra. He also volunteers to teach origami to youngsters and senior citizens at the Hobby Lobby Creative Centers. He plans to add more volunteer work to his busy schedule. “I also want to volunteer to help the Gates program to get more students to apply for the scholarship,” he says.

When asked what his future career plans entail, Raphael responded, “My ultimate goal is to be happy and successful by working in the field of geology and water resources; the land and water are very important elements that contribute to the welfare and well being of our Native American people.”