Bianca Valle (C) holds the $10,000 Nordstrom Ten4U Scholarship check she won. She is 1 of 80 national winners, and was surprised during class at her high school. Anita Crandall(R), Diversity Affairs Director for Nordstrom and her counselor made the presenation.
With as much humility as possible, please allow me to share this news with you, my readers. My daughter, Bianca Valle, is the lucky recipient of the Nordstrom’s Ten4U $10,000 college scholarship!
The road to this momentous day began in February of 2012, when she applied for this scholarship after was making lists of scholarships to apply for years earlier. She started applying to local scholarships her freshman year in high school, mostly local Coronado scholarships offered by service clubs, and though she made the finalist round on a couple of them she did not win. Also, these awards were in the range of $500 to $1,000.
The biggest award she put on her list, and by far the one with the highest statistical improbability for her to win, was the Nordstrom Ten4U award since it is a national competition. Nevertheless, she completed the demanding application requirements and submited it. After approximately 6 months, she got a call that she was a semi finalist which required her to submit a letter of recommendation from a teacher.
In July, she got another call letting her know she had made the final cut for the in person interviews. The numbers are staggering. Out of 12,000 applications nation wide, 750 were submitted in our region which is California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. In August, she was one of 16 students from the Mountain area invited to an in-person interview at the Fashion Valley store in San Diego in front of 7 community leaders.
Then on a very fortuitous date, 10-11-12, I got a phone call at home from Anita Crandall, the Director of Diversity Affairs for Nordstrom, to tell me Bianca was a winner. According to Miss Crandall, “the interview did it!”
Watching the videos taken by our local press and reading the articles you will see how much class Nordstrom demonstrated during the presentation…they even brought Cake Bites for the whole class from the latest “Cupcake Wars” winner Sweet Fairy, and Sprinkles Cupcakes for the adults.
Enjoy this special moment!
The Headlines:
Coronado High School Senior Bianca Valle Wins Nordstrom Scholarship
Coronado High Student Awarded with Prestigious Nordstrom Scholarship
The Press Release:
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM – TEN4U
At Nordstrom, supporting the communities where we do business is inherent to our culture. We want to give back to the communities where we do business, supporting the communities that support us. We’re proud to help motivated students move one step closer to achieving their academic dreams through the Nordstrom Scholarship Program.
Since 1994, Nordstrom has awarded college scholarships to hard-working high school students from across the country. In 2013, the company will again award 80 scholarships of $10,000. These scholarships are paid out in equal installments of $2,500 over four years to the college of the student’s choice.
As we’ve shared information about the program with students, teachers and counselors, we’ve adopted the text-inspired handle Ten4U, which can be interpreted as either $10,000 for University or $10,000 for YOU.
Selection Criteria
High school juniors located in one of the 31 states where Nordstrom operates a Full-line or Rack store who demonstrate outstanding community involvement and scholastic achievement are welcome to apply for the scholarship. Students must have an un-weighted cumulative GPA of 2.7 and must also be eligible to attend a four year college or university in the United States during all years for which the scholarship is awarded.
To apply, applicants complete an online application (www.nordstrom.com/scholarship) that includes a personal statement, and an original essay. Selected finalists are then interviewed in person or by video conference with a regional selection committee consisting of educators, business leaders, community partners and Nordstrom representatives. Once the recipients are selected, Nordstrom representatives make a surprise visit to the students’ school where the students are informed that they have won a Nordstrom scholarship.
2013 Nordstrom Scholarships
Applications for the 2013 Nordstrom Scholarship awards will be available for eligible high school juniors beginning in February 2013. For more details about the program, visit www.nordstrom.com/scholarship.
Nordstrom Contacts
Anita Crandall
Diversity Affairs Director
San Diego/Mountain States
619.321.3717
Ellen Greene
Nordstrom Scholarship Program
206-373-4393
Media inquiries:
Tara Darrow
Nordstrom Corporate Affairs
206-303-3016
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