LIFE ON HIMES
Coste ’19,
Nuss ’19
NAMED
QUESTBRIDGE
SCHOLARS
The seniors are
just the 2nd
and 3rd Jesuit
students ever
to earn the
prestigious 4-year
full scholarship
Miguel Coste '19 and Trace Nuss '19
4 JESUIT PERSPECTIVES • WINTER 2018-19
In December, Jesuit High School’s
Miguel Coste '19 and Trace Nuss '19
were selected as a recipients of the
prestigious QuestBridge Scholarship,
which will provide them with a full
four-year scholarship to the University
of Notre Dame and Princeton University,
respectively.
3rd Jesuit students ever to receive the
QuestBridge honor, following Notre
An acclaimed, highly selective national
program, QuestBridge program was
founded at Stanford University and
expanded over the last two decades
-
match and full scholarships to exceptional
students from lower-income
-
MIT, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Penn,
Princeton, Vanderbilt, Virginia, and Yale.
Only 1,044 high school seniors
more than 16,000 applicants.
"My life was forever changed on
December 3rd when I read, 'Congratulations,
you've been matched to
Princeton,''' Nuss said. "I was in the
library and fell to my knees in disbelief
and thanksgiving."
Said Coste: "I am beyond grateful
and blessed to have received this
scholarship. It will fund the next four
years of my education, provide me
with opportunities I couldn't have ever
process of becoming a role model for
my family."
In addition to excelling academically,
Nuss and Coste have been true 'Men
for Others' at Jesuit. Nuss is a National
AP courses thus far at Jesuit, has an
unweighted perfect 4.0 GPA, and
been active in Key Club for four years,
has traveled to Europe for World Youth
Day, and taken mission trips to South
Carolina and South Dakota.
-
Olympics and Superstars Hillsborough
for Special Olympics and is the league
operational aspects of the 77-participant
league for athletes with physical
and cognitive disabilities.
"Trace is nearly unparalleled in his
dedication to service," said Fernando
Counseling. "He is truly energized by
service work, and is seriously dedicated
to serving his fellow human beings,
especially those with developmental
disabilities. He has deep empathy and
follows a call to serve."
Among his many awards and scholarships,
Nuss has earned the H. Norman
Schwarzkopf Leadership Award from
scholarship from the U.S. Bowling
Congress, and last summer was a Notre
Dame Leadership Scholar and a Knight
Scholar at Boys State.
"I will seize this amazing gift,” Nuss
said, “and continue to pay it forward in
my own service helping others."
Coste has been an extraordinary
student at Jesuit as well. He too has
a perfect 4.0 GPA, a 1510 SAT score,
and is an AP Scholar with Distinction.
On six occasions, Coste has received
First Honors in Class Achievement (and
Second Honors several other times),
meaning he earned the highest average
in a class for a semester, a particularly
notable achievement considering his
top students at Jesuit.
class at Jesuit to complete the school's
three-year Engineering program. Coste
also works part-time as a sales representative
to help his family pay bills. He
has been a stalwart with Jesuit's Key
Jesuit, and also is a peer minister.
and stay humble make him one of the
most exceptional young men I have
professional career in education,"
Rodrigues said. "He accomplishes his
tasks and does not seek to be noticed.
Only when he has graduated will most
people be amazed at his life story."
– his mother is a Cuban refugee and his
father endured tremendous hardship
coming to the U.S. from the Dominican
family to attend college.
"Although education was not the
siblings' lives, my parents have stressed
the importance of education to me
since my birth," Coste said. "From their
teachings, I internalized that if I want to
succeed, I must strive to be the best in
school.
"Earning the QuestBridge Scholarship
has demonstrated that no matter what
hand you're dealt in life, you can always
make the best of your situation through
hard work, determination, and perseverance."
I have the opportunity to
continue my education at
in the nation, and I will be
equipped with the tools
needed to continue living
my life in service of others.
– Trace Nuss ’19