First in their families at college, now leading the way: three Wake Tech students earn the college's top honour

Three students at Wake Tech, North Carolina's largest community college, have been named its 2026-27 Scott Scholars, one of the college's highest honours. Alex Ortega-Saucedo, Brandon Norris and Lakiesha Hale are all the first in their families to go to college. Each will receive up to $5,000 toward tuition, fees and books, plus a laptop computer, a summer internship placement and a mentor from the college's senior leadership. Their paths could hardly differ more — a student-government volunteer who helps run the Debate Club, a law-enforcement officer studying network management, and a single mother of three who has made both the President's List and the Dean's List — but all three spend much of their time helping other people succeed too.

SDG 4 · Quality education — Mechanism: institutional program