San Marcos High School senior wins $40,000 Amazon scholarship

San Marcos High School senior Miguel Hernandez recently received an Amazon package that will provide a huge relief for his college aspirations.

For weeks, however, Hernandez was unsure if it would even arrive. But on Monday, April 17, he saw it waiting for him at his house.

When he opened it, he learned he received a $40,000 scholarship as an Amazon Future Engineers scholar.

Inside the package, he received a congratulations message from Amazon, a celebratory scholarship check, and a stole to wear at graduation.

“I opened it and was like, ‘Oh my God,’ I actually got it,” Hernandez said. “So, I was just really happy because at first I was like, ‘Oh, I’m just not gonna get it.’ But I actually got it.”

Hernandez said he learned about the scholarship opportunity from Rebecca Kroener and SMHS ROTC Instructor Maj. Anthony Williams. To apply for the scholarship, Miguel said he had to answer essay questions and provide proof of scholarship need.

Hernandez is the second SMHS student to earn the Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship, Kroener said. She said she believes it shows the benefits of taking the chance to apply.

“Just the fact that it’s not an unattainable dream,” Kroener said.

Hernandez said he’ll use the scholarship to either attend Texas State University for computer engineering, or the University of Texas at San Antonio for cybersecurity.

Hernandez, who is an ROTC member, said he found an interest in cybersecurity by taking part in a competition called CyberPatriot — a National Youth Cyber Education Program created by the Air Force Association. The program puts high school and middle school students in charge of securing virtual networks.

“Basically, it’s a teambased competition where a group of five are given four virtual machines and are given a task to find a certain amount of issues,” Hernandez said. “Sometimes, it means you have to act as a firewall, and you’ve got to find back doors.”

Alongside the financial portion of the scholarship, Amazon will provide Hernandez with a paid internship in the summer of 2024.

Hernandez said he is excited about using the scholarship for his future.

“It’s a huge relief. I was like, ‘OK, I’m gonna need to figure out how much I need to raise.’ But, with this, it took a big amount off it,” Hernandez said. “So, I think I should have enough. I also have local scholarships.”