Email
Daniel Washington works on a robot at the University of New Mexico. Washington, a high school senior, is an intern in the school's robotics lab. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/Journal)
High school senior Daniel Washington doesn’t believe in sitting still.
In fact, he feels guilty if he does.
“A lot of that comes from my upbringing,” the Southwest Learning Centers student and Rio Rancho resident said. “I was told you have to do something every day to be productive.”
It’s probably this attitude that set him on the path to win a highly coveted spot at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a full-ride scholarship to the University of Arizona and a spot on the list of finalists for the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship, which only 1,000 students receive every year. The scholarship will cover a student’s tuition at the college of his or her choosing through graduation. He also learned Wednesday that he was accepted to Carnegie-Mellon.
Washington, who has hopes of becoming an aerospace engineer, hasn’t decided where he will attend but said MIT is at the top of his list. Tuition, he said, is based on a family’s income. The school covers the rest. He’s also applied to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Stanford, University of California-Berkeley and Yale.
His list of accomplishments and activities is long as well. He’s skilled at the piano, having played since he was 3. He’s a tap dance teacher and an intern at the University of New Mexico robotics lab while also taking high school and college courses. He’ll have 32 college credits when he graduates. He’s earned the rank of Eagle Scout and is the elected leader of the Boy Scout-sponsored National Youth Leadership Training camp.
“I have always said that people are not defined by what they do but what they leave behind when they are gone,” he said. “I want to be remembered as a person that helped this world in whatever way I am able.”
Washington is student body president at Southwest Learning Centers, a charter school he has attended since sixth grade. Principal Scott Glasrud said although many intelligent students have gone through the school, Washington stands out because of his character and his background.
“He comes from a very different background,” Glasrud said. “He was raised by a single parent and he’s African-American.”
Washington’s parents divorced when he was 6, and his father moved to California. His mother has been his ultimate inspiration, showing him the value of hard work while loving him unconditionally.
Reprint story -- Email the reporter at ebriseno@abqjournal.com. Call the reporter at 505-823-3965
