Ester Lomeli, a senior at Watsonville High School, talks Thursday about her outstanding academic record.

Ester Lomeli took time away from her advanced placement statistics class at Watsonville High Thursday to talk about a six-week summer course she took at a prestigious East Coast university.

Later that day, the 17-year-old senior would leave for Cabrillo College, where she’s taking second-semester calculus and Japanese. This, she calls her “chill day.”

It seems that a day of academic rigor that would crush many people is relaxing for Lomeli. She’s taking a full load of AP classes in her final year in high school, and decided as a freshman to seek a greater challenge by attending Cabrillo in the afternoons.

As to her college plans, she has her sights set on Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and could already have a foot in the door after attending the Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science program at the Cambridge campus last summer. She also had a reportedly successful admission interview on Wednesday.

“I’ve always thought I wanted to go to MIT since I was in junior high,” Lomeli said.

The six-week MITES program is designed to give prospective students a real taste of college life, from serious academics to dealing with a roommate. Indeed, Lomeli got a feel for the life of a college freshman, sometimes getting only three hours of sleep between completing assignments.

“It was a shocker, very rigorous,” she said. “It wasn’t just ‘plug and chug.’ We had to understand the concepts before applying them.”

While the MITES program does not give grades, students leave with letters of recommendation from college professors.

About 500 students from all over the U.S. applied to the program and 66 were accepted.

Students are selected based on academic achievement, teacher recommendations, and interest in science and engineering. According to a MITES spokesperson, the goal is to increase the number of students pursuing careers in science and engineering.

It wasn’t Lomeli’s first taste of college life. She’s also participated in a college-readiness program through CSU Monterey Bay and in a tour of several Ivy League colleges.

Though she’s visited other college campuses, her desire to attend MIT hasn’t wavered.

“The feeling I got when I was there — I felt at home,” she said. “Like I actually belong there.”

She wants to study nuclear engineering and energy, with the eventual goal of developing alternative future energy sources.

“It’s definitely something that has career options that will not only help me, but give me a way to help other people,” she said.

Born in Watsonville, Lomeli moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, where she lived until she was in third grade. She’s the oldest of six siblings.

At WHS, she’s earned a 4.2 grade point average. She also learned Tuesday she was recognized by the College Board’s National Hispanic Recognition Program.

When she first moved back from Mexico, Lomeli said she was nervous about her language skills, and rarely spoke. She now says that learning the language simply comes down to effort.

“It just means you have to read a couple more books than every one else,” she said. “It’s just a matter of trying.”

Lomeli has no problem with English now. She is full of contagious energy, she loves to talk and does so effusively and intelligently. When she took French at WHS, it was her fourth language.

“I tried sign language, but all that silence wasn’t for me,” she laughed.

She has been active in cheerleading and sports, but her priorities lie in academics — she keeps her extracurricular schedule light to make room for her Cabrillo classes, which over the years have ranged from ethnic studies to Japanese.

Additionally, she tutors fellow students in chemistry, and when the WHS student newspaper is reborn this year, she will write a column about student choices after graduation.

When it comes to advice for those who might be struggling with a difficult concept, Lomeli was quick to share her philosophy, which could also be applied to life.

“Never give up,” she said. “Just because a problem is hard doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.”





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