Paolaenid Rodney-Hernandez. Photo courtesy of Dallas ISD.
When Paolaenid Rodney-Hernandez graduated from Hillcrest High School, she finished with two years’ worth of college credits and about $400,000 in combined scholarship offers.
She plans to attend the University of Texas at Dallas in the fall to study neuroscience. The school awarded her $20,000 in scholarships, and she also received $10,000 in community-based scholarships.
Rodney-Hernandez graduated with her high school diploma and an associate of science degree from Dallas College.
While at Hillcrest, Rodney-Hernandez played on the varsity tennis team, was a captain of the swim team and co-captain of the calculator applications team. She was the junior secretary of the National Honor Society and the senior lieutenant of the Panaders Drill Team Dancers.
She will continue to dance as a member of the Power Dancers at UT Dallas.
Before attending Hillcrest, Rodney-Hernandez, who was born on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and has lived in Texas for 14 years, went to George Bannerman Dealey Montessori Academy. She also attended Dan D. Rogers Elementary and Henry W. Longfellow Career Exploration Academy.
“My history in Dallas ISD has helped reveal a lot of things that I don’t think I would have been able to learn if I would have gone to any other school district,” she told Dallas ISD. “It has such a purpose and a goal in mind, to make sure that all their students have equal access to the best education they can achieve, with teachers that care about them and can adapt to the different learning abilities that each student has.”
