Melonie Vaughn of Lathrop High School could be going from Lathrop to Harvard.

The Spartan senior has been offered a full-ride scholarship to the prestigious Ivy League school and could be starting there in the fall should she choose to accept the offer.

The scholarship offer would cover all of Vaughn’s expenses related to her college studies, from tuition, dormitory, books, food, and other expenses. She plans to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering.

The consistent honor student and National Hispanic scholar explains why she decided to send an application to Harvard.

“I applied to Harvard in the winter of last year knowing that gaining admission for biomedical engineering was an unlikely feat. However, I viewed gaining admission into Harvard as a way to prove to other young women not to set limitations on their dreams,” she said in a quote sent to the news media. “Regardless of one’s socioeconomic background, race, or gender, I believe any student is capable of success with the proper work ethic. I am hopeful that my admittance into Harvard encourages other MUSD students to apply to Ivy League schools. I haven’t officially submitted my letter of intent yet, but it would be an honor to attend Harvard this fall and represent Lathrop High School.”

Vaughn is highly regarded by staff and peers at Lathrop High. She has been consistently praised for her academic excellence and being a National Hispanic Scholar. Throughout her four years in high school, she has also maintained her involvement in many extracurricular activities including memberships in campus organizations and clubs such as Interact, Friday Night Live, Women’s Empowerment, and the Youth Advisory Committee.

In the last three years, Lathrop High School has had three graduating seniors being accepted to prestigious campuses on the East Coast on full-ride scholarships. In 2013, Megan Pei-Er Cai who graduated as a co-valedictorian of her class, was accepted to attend Cornell University in New York where she is pursuing government studies in the university’s College of Arts and Sciences and has maintained her excellent grades. After graduation, she plans to go on to law school for which she has already made preparations including taking the LSAT exams. Cai, who also works as an administrative assistant at the university, expects to graduate from Cornell next year.

In 2012, Spartan senior and JROTC cadet Ross Downum elected to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. He was nominated to attend West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, by former Congressman Dennis Cardoza (D-Merced), but eventually decided to go to West Point.