Worcester Teen Wins Rare $25K Taco Bell Scholarship

WORCESTER, MA — A North High School junior has earned a $25,000 college scholarship from Taco Bell, one of a handful handed out this week by the Tex-Mex chain.

Unlike most scholarships, the Taco Bell Foundation doesn't grant its "Live Más" scholarships based on grades or athletic achievements. The scholarships go to students who demonstrate passion for a particular subject.

Nhi Huynh moved to Worcester in 8th grade, and only knew how to say "hello" and "how are you." As she enters her senior year at North High School, Huynh is fluent in English, and credits her English as a second language (ESL) teacher with helping her toward that achievement.

Huynh wants to attend Holy Cross when she graduates in 2022 to become an ESL teacher. In her scholarship application essay, she highlighted that there are countless students around the world who can't afford special schools to learn English. In her spare time, Huynh tutors students in English, and runs a blog about studying tips.

"Coming from a developing country, I noticed there weren't many English resources in remote areas," she said. "My underlying goal is to bring a better education to underprivileged kids."

Huynh was one of just 26 students nationwide who won the top $25,000 scholarship. The Taco Bell Foundation gave out over 725 Live Más — the fast food chain's slogan — scholarships in 2021 after about 10,000 students applied.