Beatriz Lopes has big plans for her future. The Byrnes High School Senior dreams of attending Duke University, majoring in pre-med and eventually becoming a diagnostic radiologist. "I got involved in a lot of health care clubs and organizations in high school and narrowed down my interests," says Lopes. Now, she might soon have a little help making that dream come true. The 18 year old just recently learned she's been selected as a National Merit Scholarship finalist. Nationally, more than 1.3 million high school students apply for the National Merit Scholarship program, with just 16,000 advancing to the semi-finalist stage. An even smaller percentage have the honor of being chosen as finalists.
Lopes says she was beyond excited to hear the news. "It's just such an honor to represent this organization," she says. Born in Portugal, Lopes moved to the United States, along with her family, when she was just nine years old. She's proud to represent that heritage on a national level. "I'm just happy they give opportunities to a wide range of communities," Lopes says.
With dreams of going into medicine, Lopes says she hopes to maybe one day return to the Upstate after college and give back. "I really want to get to know the communities I serve, wherever that may be."
In the meantime, in between math club, National Honor Society, and Art National Honor Society, Lopes says she wants to learn a couple of new languages (she already is fluent in four). "I already speak English, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian, and I'd like to learn Mandarin and French," she says. With all the Senior has already accomplished, there's no doubt she can do whatever she sets her mind to.
Congratulations Beatriz!