Azucena Sandoval, a senior at Watsonville High School, has been named a semifinalist for the 2026 Coca-Cola Scholars Program, placing her in the top 1% of 107,000 applicants nationwide.
“Watsonville High, my teachers, friends, and family have been so supportive and being a semifinalist is a testament to everything around me,” Sandoval said, adding that it was her high school counselor, Ruschele Viotti, who brought the scholarship to Sandoval’s attention.
“I was hearing a lot of people online say that the scholarship is very competitive and a lot of prestigious people from private schools get in, so I was standoffish about the idea of applying in the first place,” Sandoval said. “But a lot of people around me were encouraging.”
Sandoval recalls that the most challenging part of the process was the self-doubt. “I was putting in all my extracurriculars, and I kept thinking, ‘Is this enough?’ ‘Is this enough for the Coca-Cola scholarship to recognize me as a good candidate?’”
As Sandoval applies for her undergraduate studies, she says she wants to focus on environmental engineering and is particularly interested in Stanford University. She recognizes what a financial relief the $20,000 scholarship would provide for her and her family.
“My parents have worked so hard to ensure that we have everything we need to be successful,” she said. “Being able to have this scholarship would be such a great honor to tell them, ‘Look, Mom and Dad, this is going to help us.'”
If she isn’t doing an internship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or UC Berkeley, or working at Regeneración Pajaro Valley, a nonprofit she’s been working at for two years, Sandoval enjoys watching “The Great British Bake Off” and “Jeopardy!” with her parents.
“My family and I like to listen and try to answer the questions,” Sandoval said, laughing. “This is our time together and it brings me joy.”
As one of about 1,200 semifinalists, Sandoval will be judged by her essays, transcript and recommendations. About 250 students advance to the regional finals – a series of interviews with Coke scholars alumni and staff – and from those, 150 will receive grants.
Over the years, the Coca-Cola Scholars program, run by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, has provided over 7,000 students with more than $87 million in educational support.
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