Denver philanthropist Bill Daniels thought his scholarship program would send maybe 1,000 kids to college.
But now, a decade after the telecom billionaire’s death, his largesse has covered the undergraduate education costs for more than 2,000 students from Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.
“He had a dream about 1,000 students going to college, and now that we have 2,000 in just 10 years, it’s amazing,” said Linda Childears, president and chief executive of the Daniels Fund.
On Wednesday, four Daniels Scholarship winners from Hinkley High School in Aurora and two from Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver were announced. They are among the 261 students selected from 2,000 applicants, all of whom were nominated by youth agencies or high schools.
“There’s a lot of happiness,” said Salvador Ramirez, one of the recipients from Hinkley High School. “My parents never had the opportunity to go to school; now I’m more motivated.”
The Hinkley students — Ramirez, Danielle Renae Davis, Marco Antonio Garcia and Rhiannon Jean Jarrell — got their good news from former Denver Nugget Mark Randall and team mascot “Rocky,” and Colorado Rockies left fielder Seth Smith.
Denver Broncos tight end Daniel Graham visited Thomas Jefferson to let Andrew Craig and Paige Wilson know they’d won scholarships.
The amount of each scholarship is determined based on financial need after other funding has been applied to the bill.
Students are evaluated on strength of character, leadership potential, financial need and academic promise.
Ramirez, who is planning to attend the University of Denver to study English and perhaps become a teacher, said he knows his community involvement helped him receive the scholarship. Ramirez regularly volunteers at his school as a translator during parent-teacher conferences.
“It’s the overall passion I have for the community and for school,” Ramirez said.
Childears, who worked with Bill Daniels in establishing the Young Americans Bank before Daniels’ death in 2000, said she couldn’t help thinking of him as the scholarships were announced.
“I know he would be proud, but he would be especially proud of the scholars,” Childears said.
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1638 or yrobles@denverpost.com
