MIDLAND Rising Midland High School senior Eliana Aguila has been awarded The Four Star Leader Award at the prestigious Midland Young Leaders Challenge (MYLC). This honor includes a $3,000 scholarship and recognizes her outstanding leadership potential and commitment to community service.
Aguila now advances to the Four Star Leadership conference at the General Tommy Franks Institute in Oklahoma this July.
“The students and speakers were so great, it was really nice to network and meet students from across Midland and interact with them and exchange ideas,” Aguila said of the program in a news release. “A lot of the speakers talked about the importance of effective communication, so that really resonated and helped me gain confidence in my public speaking.”
At MHS, Aguila is a member of the Spanish Honor Society, varsity cross country, and will serve as a senior class officer. This summer, she is gaining hands-on experience through the internship program at the I-20 Wildlife Preserve. She plans to pursue a career in conservation and aims to study environmental engineering in college, though she has not yet decided which institution she will attend.
Aguila has been involved with Midland College’s Kids’ College for the past three summers, where she observed older students participating in the MYLC. She encourages other students to apply, emphasizing the program’s impact on her personal and leadership development.
Additionally, during the MYLC, Legacy High School rising senior Kip Cohlmia won the OpEd Writing contest, earning him a $1,000 scholarship.
Thirty Midland County rising seniors were selected for participation in the Midland Young Leaders Challenge through a rigorous application process. The program focuses on developing critical skills in persuasive communication, character, and leadership.
