Skip Navigation
Oklahoma City - An OSU Degree in OKC.

Sixth-grade promise leads to OSU-OKC scholarship for freshman

Dayanna Rangel-Meraz receives a scholarship certificate in sixth grade.

A certificate received in the sixth grade will now help an Oklahoma City student attend college.

Dayanna Rangel-Meraz was part of an Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City program that helped fund “graduating” Westwood Elementary School students’ path to college.

Westwood Elementary School is located at 1701 W Exchange, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  The partnership between OSU-OKC and Westwood was to provide tutoring/mentoring on a volunteer basis. Starting in 2009, students who met certain requirements and agreed to a pledge of various behavioral and academic requirements, were presented with a certificate that could be used upon high school graduation to help cover costs at OSU-OKC. These were presented in a ceremony where photos were taken of the students receiving the certificates.

Rangel-Meraz was looking into her college options after graduation from ASTEC Charter High School.

“My mom remembered the picture,” Rangel-Meraz said.

After tracking down the photo, Rangel-Meraz reached out to OSU-OKC, where she spoke with Daniela Arvizo, OSU-OKC’s Hispanic Outreach Recruitment Specialist, to find out if the promise made by OSU-OKC half her life ago could still help her achieve her college dreams. 

Arvizo researched the particulars of the program and confirmed that Rangel-Meraz did qualify.

Now, Rangel-Meraz is set to enroll for fall 2023 at OSU-OKC and study radiology.

Alyson Smotherman, director of recruitment at OSU-OKC, says it’s exciting to see the promise pay off.

“I’m glad the work done many years ago by OSU-OKC volunteers is paying off with this student receiving funds for college,” Smotherman said. “We have lots of ways to help pay for your school at OSU-OKC, so if you’re potentially interested in going to school here, we’d love for you to reach out. We may be able to help you find scholarships or other assistance.”

For more information about OSU-OKC, visit osuokc.edu. Students and potential students can also contact recruitment at okc.info@okstate.edu for more information.