Senior Lily Olmo has received a $10,000 scholarship from Nordstrom department stores.

Olmo had to do some digging on her own to find the scholarship.

“During my junior year, I was searching for scholarships on scholarship search websites, and I came across the Nordstrom scholarship. I began applying to lots of random scholarships just to see what the process was like,” Olmo said. “My advice to juniors: start looking for scholarships now. You never know what could be out there.”

Nordstrom e-mailed the school, informing them about Olmo’s achievement. They kept it a secret and surprised her during her fourth period class.

“I had no idea I received the scholarship until the day they came into my class and surprised me. I was completely shocked! Out of 6,000 applicants, only 40 received the scholarship, so it was surreal to me that I was one of those 40 students. On top of that, I had no idea they would bring cupcakes to my entire class and present me with a brand new MacBook,” Olmo said.

The requirements to apply included community service experience, leadership roles and two short essays.

“The only stressful part of the application process was the waiting. I applied in May, and was called back for a Skype interview in July. I was actually in Costa Rica at the time and had to use my really poor wi-fi connection to make the call,” Olmo said. “The interview only took about ten minutes, but the waiting afterwards was the hardest part. I had to wait two months to know the results.”

Many students apply to get these scholarships, but only select few earn them.

“Earning this scholarship has motivated me to continue what I am doing: serving the community, leading others and working hard in school. I hope that this success can prepare me for future scholarship opportunities. In the middle of the stress of senior year, this was a huge excitement and relief,” Olmo said.

Senior year can be a stressful year when applying for colleges and trying to get in to the colleges that seniors want to go to.

Olmo said, “Money has always been a concern for me when looking at colleges. This scholarship has eased my tensions about paying for college, and I am so thankful to have received it.”