In Spring 2008, NACME awarded 11 of the nation’s highest achieving high school seniors scholarships as part of its Pre-Engineering Scholars program. Each scholar received $1,500 towards the cost of their undergraduate engineering studies.

One of those students, Eric A. Flores Franco, recently began his freshman year at Purdue University, where he plans to major in aerospace engineering.

When asked what drew him to engineering, Eric explained, “Since I was little, I wanted to be something big in my career. When I first saw the word ‘engineer’, it came to me.”

Born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, Eric ranked first in his graduating senior class where he was elected and served as Student Council president. Now, Eric looks forward to balancing his academic goals with his talents as a baseball player. He is also interested in reaching out to others and encouraging them to dream big.

“You will always miss 100 percent of the chances you don’t take,” said Eric, referring to one of his favorite quotes.

Eric considers his mother as a role model and the main motivation in his life. María Flores attested her son’s success to his ambition, along with the impact of receiving the NACME scholarship.

“[Eric] has a huge heart and he has been blessed with an awesome mentality and capability to help others out. He is really something. I just really want to say thank you. If it was not for [NACME]…maybe his dream could not be true. Because of you, it is a reality.”