Hempstead High School senior Melva Ramirez Zavala named Gates scholar

Hempstead High School senior Melva Ramirez Zavala dreamed of attending college in Washington D.C., the home of her maternal grandparents. Thanks to two life-changing scholarships, her dream will come true — but the news comes with a bittersweet edge.

Ramirez, who plans to study nursing at The Catholic University of America, said her grandfather had died recently, before he could learn of her good fortune.

“I still have my grandmother and I’m just a big family person, that’s a big reason why I’m going,” Ramirez, 17, told Newsday. “I’m very happy that I’m still able to kind of be there for him because he always wanted a nurse in the family.”

The Hempstead High salutatorian earned a full-ride scholarship worth $332,864 to Catholic University. She has also been named a Gates scholar, a prestigious award given annually to a select number of "outstanding" low-income students. The scholarship covers any expenses for undergraduate recipients — from tuition and books to food and housing — not paid for through other financial aid sources.

For Ramirez, she said the scholarship will allow her to buy laptop and fund other personal expenses, and even cover therapy should she seek it.

“Gates has a very heavy focus on mental health,” the 4.0 GPA student said of the scholarship established by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. “They know that school can be very pressuring so they also want to take care of that.”

Her father, Erick, noted it will also help pay for another important expense: “They will pay for her to come home [between semesters].”

The teen's father recalled how “my wife cried” when they learned of their daughter's achievement several weeks ago.

“We are very happy,” he told Newsday.

'Powerhouse' student

Ramirez is the second student from Hempstead in as many years to be named a Gates scholar. Last year, Academy Charter High School senior Adinsson Goris also received the coveted scholarship, for which tens of thousands apply. Goris previously told Newsday he planned to study computer science at New York University.

Social studies teacher Dina Platt choked up as she recounted experiences with Ramirez in her 10th grade AP World History course, as well as her AP U.S. Government and Politics class this year.

The teacher, speaking before an awards ceremony at Hempstead High on Thursday, said she'd come to know the teen as “kind,” a “powerhouse” and “a super consistent student.”

Platt said earlier this year, Ramirez “really took the lead in the discussion” with half the class during a group project that divided them into the two chambers of Congress and forced them to decide what to fund.

“She’s a thinker, a problem solver,” Platt said. “She usually has great, insightful questions about the application of the Constitution and how things play out in real life to really grasp what’s going on.”

This year’s valedictorian, Anjali Mishra, said Ramirez, whom she’s called a friend since they met in AP Biology in 10th grade, “envelops everyone in her brightness” when she speaks but does not shy away from taking charge.

“We meet people who maybe struggle with their work, and she’s more than willing to help them understand,” Mishra, 18, said. “With her friends, she’s not just kind, but a leader. She’s able to step out of that kindness and say ‘everything’s not fun and games, we actually have to focus on our work.’ ” 

Outside of class, Ramirez has played varsity tennis, served as president of the photography club, held positions on various academic honor societies and worked at an Aéropostale location to save money for college.

She envisions a career as a neonatal intensive care unit nurse before becoming a nurse practitioner, after witnessing the line of work up close.

“My own sister was a premature baby and also my own cousin, so I was very inspired seeing the nurses in the hospital,” Ramirez said.

She currently volunteers at NYU Langone Hospital in Mineola as part of their lavender team, which offers snacks, a sense of calm and a listening ear to staff in need of mental health support during their day.

“We visit all floors: Pediatrics, ICU units, emergency departments,” she said. “That also reassured me being a nursing major and seeing my future in nursing. Nurses work very hard and nursing is very intimate. You are the one helping and you know your patient.”