The Bethlehem Area School District recognized Freedom HS senior and Cooke College Scholarship recipient Emma Lazo at a short celebration on April 28 at Freedom HS. Lazo is one of only four seniors in Pennsylvania to have been approved for this distinction. As a Yale University-bound student who plans to major in neuroscience with a pre-med track, Lazo will receive up to $55,000 annually toward tuition, books, meals and board. The funding is provided through the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

Superintendent Dr. Joseph Roy presented Lazo with a certificate of recognition, telling her, “We are proud of how you’ve taken advantage of what the BASD offered.” She ranks fourth in her class of 455. Among her many activities she is a student reporter for the Bethlehem Press, president of the STEM Club, president of the Spanish Club, a National Honor Society member, a volunteer at St. Luke’s Hospital, and is on both the tennis and track teams. She works part-time at Panera Bread.

Lazo was joined by her parents, Mauricio and Wendy, and her younger brother William. She is the first in her family to attend college. Her family immigrated from San Salvador 15 years ago. “This is a wonderful moment in my life,” said Lazo, who thanked her parents and the administrators and teachers who were present. “Everyone here has been so supportive,” she added.

State Reprentative Steve Samuelson also attended and called Lazo a “wonderful example.”