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<\/a><\/p>\nSarah and Monty Bennett addressed the 2026 Dallas Bright Futures scholarship recipients during the ceremony | Image by DX<\/p>\n
Students Recognized For Achievement, Resilience<\/p>\n
Laura Romero,<\/strong> a graduate of Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women\u2019s Leadership School, plans to study civil engineering at the University of Southern California.<\/p>\nRomero grew up in a single-parent household, graduated at the top of her class with a 3.89 GPA, completed 12 AP courses, interned at HDR, and helped care for a younger sibling, according to Dallas Bright Futures.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Romero, Sarah Bennett reflected on what Romero\u2019s engineering mentor had written about her: that she is \u201cambitious without being arrogant, passionate without being impulsive, and optimistic without being na\u00efve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYour story shows that engineering is not just about roads, bridges, and buildings. It is about people, access, stability, and opportunity \u2013 and you have understood that longer than most engineers twice your age,\u201d Bennett told her.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Martin Davalos<\/strong>, a Lassiter Early College High School graduate, plans to attend the University of Texas at Dallas to study finance and real estate.<\/p>\nDavalos has already spent years learning the industry by following his sister Alma through home showings, contracts, and renovation projects, according to Dallas Bright Futures.<\/p>\n
Bennett noted that one of Davalos\u2019 teachers said his curiosity and intellect had \u201cinspired me to enhance the rigor of my lessons.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYou are not just dreaming about your future. You have already started building the foundation for it \u2014 with discipline, humility, and a plan specific enough to act on the day you graduate,\u201d Bennett told him.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Scholars Look Toward Service, Leadership<\/p>\n
Yurem Rojas<\/strong>, a graduate of Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy, opened his scholarship essay with his ZIP code: 75216.<\/p>\nRojas described Oak Cliff not as a place to escape, but as a badge of honor. He works each week as a lead cook at Wingstop, takes his younger brother to school each morning, captains his Mock Trial team, and has spent four years being mentored by a City of Dallas management analyst, according to Dallas Bright Futures.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYour dream is not just personal success. Your dream is to come back, serve Dallas, and make sure the next generation in your neighborhood has the same chances you fought to create for yourself,\u201d Bennett told him.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Rojas plans to study public administration at the University of Texas at San Antonio.<\/p>\n
Kennedy Davis<\/strong>, a Conrad High School graduate, plans to attend UT Dallas to study information systems and technology.<\/p>\nAt the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp, Davis built an AI tool called Supply Guard, designed to help protect small businesses from supply chain disruptions. The idea came after Davis watched her mother navigate medical paperwork following her grandfather\u2019s stroke, according to Dallas Bright Futures.<\/p>\n
Bennett cited Davis\u2019 English teacher, who wrote that Kennedy \u201cwalks in wisdom far beyond her years\u201d and that her \u201chumility exudes a beautiful aroma that potently shifts the culture of any room.\u201d<\/p>\n
Davis also captained Conrad\u2019s swim teams to back-to-back district championships.<\/p>\n
Bright Futures Ahead<\/p>\n
Valeria Plascencia<\/strong>, also a graduate of Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women\u2019s Leadership School, plans to pursue pre-law at Southern Methodist University.<\/p>\nPlascencia, the oldest of five siblings, worked 40 hours a week, studied abroad in Madrid on a merit scholarship, won a student election against an incumbent, and helped keep a student club active after its founding sponsor departed, according to Dallas Bright Futures.<\/p>\n
Her teacher of five years described her growth from a student who \u201cstruggled with self-confidence\u201d into \u201ca solid leader, a charismatic young lady, and a calculated risk taker.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe growth you have shown is not the result of circumstance. It is the result of choices \u2013 to stay, to lead, to serve, and to become someone your family and community can rely on,\u201d Bennett told her.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Each of this year\u2019s scholarship recipients also spoke to The Dallas Express about the teachers, mentors, and family members who helped them reach graduation and prepare for college.<\/p>\n
The ceremony recognized five Dallas students who have already begun building paths rooted in discipline, service, and long-term purpose.<\/p>\n
The next generation of Dallas graduates has some bright futures ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sarah and Monty Bennett stand with the five recipients of the 2026 Monty J. and Sarah Z. Bennett…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":847100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,346343,346344,346345,1596,346346,16213,346347,346348,346349,346350,346351,16387,20489,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,11016,68236,101369],"class_list":["post-847099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-america","tag-barack-obama-male-leadership-academy","tag-bennett-dallas-scholarship-fund","tag-conrad-high-school","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-bright-futures","tag-dallas-isd","tag-dallas-students","tag-irma-lerma-rangel-young-womens-leadership-school","tag-lassiter-early-college-high-school","tag-monty-bennett","tag-sarah-bennett","tag-scholarships","tag-smu","tag-texas","tag-tx","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-usc","tag-ut-dallas","tag-ut-san-antonio"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=847099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/847100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=847099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=847099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=847099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}