By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
The numbers weren’t exactly in Isabella Espinosa’s favor. The Bowling Green High School senior was one of nearly 17,000 students nationwide who applied to earn a match scholarship through QuestBridge College Match Program this fall. The odds got slightly better when she was one of about 6,000 chosen to be finalists.
Her luck came through when she got the news earlier this month that she was one about 1,600 high school students who were matched with QuestBridge universities and one of 87 matched to receive a full-ride scholarship to Notre Dame in fall 2023.
The reality though is that it wasn’t luck that earned Espinosa the award; it was all because of: Her grades. Her extracurriculars. Her focus on going to college. Her financial need to attend college. And her motivation to succeed.
Everything about the Bowling Green native fits the mission of QuestBridge, which connects high-achieving, low-income students with one of the many United States higher learning institutions. Espinosa, who plans to study biochemistry on a pre-medicine track, not only was matched, but she was picked by her number one university choice.
She holds a 4.35 grade point average and is a member of the National Honor Society and the Spanish National Honor Society and president of the Spanish club. She received the Ohio Seal of Biliteracy for high levels of proficiency in English and Spanish. She is a four-year member of the varsity swim team and a junior class officer. A piano player since third grade, she performs with the high school Jazz Band and earned the Woody Herman Jazz Award which recognizes an outstanding jazz student. She also was named the Bowling Green Exchange Club’s October Student of the Month.
Outside of school, Espinosa is a server at Stone Ridge Country Club and a lifeguard at the Bowling Green City Pool in the summer. Daughter to Angel and Laura Espinosa and older sister to Vanessa, Isabella also has taken on responsibilities at home including cooking and caring for her sister when her parents are working.
She learned about the QuestBridge program from her high school advanced placement language arts teacher, Adam Jarvis, who had heard about it from former English colleague Jennifer Dever.
Every year he shares the QuestBridge scholarship information with all his students.
“When Isabella reached out with questions, I realized she was a natural fit for the program because of her sheer dedication to academics, hard work and grit, all coupled with her inherent good character,” Jarvis said. “I’ve always thought of Isabella as quietly courageous and someone who would really embody QuestBridge’s values of students who are ‘thoughtful and broad-minded decision-makers.’ She’s clearly left that impression on more than just me.”
Espinosa always knew she wanted to go to college to continue her education, but “was overwhelmed because I didn’t know anything about the application process,” she said. Her guidance counselor Doug Niekamp answered her questions, and she attended a QuestBridge seminar at the high school presented by Andrew Hershberger, “who was a great help.” She also participated in a virtual conference over the summer that provided more insight into the process.
Once Espinosa made it through the initial steps to become a finalist, she had to provide additional information including an essay response about her greatest achievement, “something that is not on your resume but that you are proud of yourself,” she said. “I wrote about being proud of breaking my personal best in my swim event, the 50-meter freestyle. I’m not a great swimmer, but after joining the swim team as a freshman, I was working to catch up with everybody.”
When asked why she thinks she was selected, Espinosa said, “I think I showed how dedicated I am to my work, my school and at home. Being able to juggle everything—taking care of my sister when my parents are away, helping around the house, swimming, piano, work—reflects that as an organized person, I am able to pull it all together and get it all done.”
After visiting six different colleges, she is excited to attend Notre Dame. The campus is beautiful, and the people were welcoming. The pre-med program is good, and she is comfortable in the small-town atmosphere.
“I haven’t fully taken in the magnitude of the award. I’m relieved I don’t have to worry any more, especially with the financial aspect. I don’t think I realized how hard it would be to pay for college. I’m so grateful that I was able to get into a good college and not have to worry about money,” she said.
“I’ve always seen the need and the importance of having a college education, especially when it comes to being able to move up the ladder. Knowing she will be able to do that is immense,” said her father, Angel.
Earning the scholarship is “her greatest accomplishment to date. It comes from a combination of all her hard work, us guiding her and all her teachers, since she was in kindergarten, have been wonderful in teaching and supporting her and giving her the resources to do it,” he said.
