Estrella Cardona Santín was recently selected as the 2023 recipient of the Gaston College Academic Excellence Award.

The dean’s council nominated Santín because of her leadership skills and work as a peer mentor; her efforts in undergraduate research; and her overall zest for learning, according to the college’s public information office.

Each of the 58 schools in the North Carolina Community College System nominates a student for this award. It recognizes and encourages scholarship and honors students who have “set the highest possible goals and attained the pinnacle of academic success.”

Among the upcoming May graduates, Santín is on course to earn an associate in science degree. She didn’t enroll in Gaston College until a year after her high school graduation, as she didn’t feel confident of collegiate success. But when she started attending Gaston College, she began getting excellent grades and compliments from her teachers on her work. This made her realize that she had unlimited potential, and it gave her much confidence.

t the college, Santín benefited from such programs as TRiO, a federally funded effort designed to help students meet their educational goals, and the SPARC Scholars Program, a scholarship initiative for students interested in STEM-related (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) studies.

“I began to enjoy learning new things in my classes and getting to know a lot of amazing people on campus,” she recently said. “Now I am almost ready to graduate, and I know this is a huge accomplishment.”

Attending Gaston College is just Santín’s first step toward achieving her goal of becoming a dental hygienist. If she does decide to attend a four-year university, she will continue to study something in the field of science.

 Santín will be recognized at the college’s annual student awards event, scheduled for later this spring. She will be highlighted on the North Carolina Community College System Website as one of the 58 students selected by their community colleges and honored with this award.