Riverside senior accepted to seven ivy league schools

It is no surprise that Patrica Rodarte, a senior at Riverside High School, is number one in her class.

Rodarte has been accepted to seven ivy league schools.

“I was so happy to make her proud,” said Rodarte as she recalled telling her mother she received an acceptance letter from Yale University.

Rodarte has also been accepted to Columbia, Princeton, Brown, Cornell and Dartmouth College. She has applied to a total of fifteen universities.

This is the first time in recent history that an Ysleta Independent School District student has been accepted to this many ivy league schools.

Rodarte said she comes from a family with hardworking parents who never attended college, but always instilled the importance of a college education.

The 18-year-old is an aspiring medical student and plans to study microbiology or cellular and molecular biology.

Recently, Rodarte was awarded a $20,000 scholarship from Coca-Cola. More than 100,000 students applied for the scholarship.

“It was a rigorous process to be selected as a scholar.”

Rodarte has not decided where she will attend college.