RENO – Sara Beckman, a senior at Wooster High School, is the only Nevada winner of the 2010 Horatio Alger National Scholarship. Awards were given to 104 seniors from across the country.

Beckman will be recognized by the Washoe County School District Board of Trustees at its meeting on Tuesday.

The scholarship is for $20,000 and may be used at the university of her choice. Beckmam is planning to major in pre-med and currently has a 5.03 weighted GPA. She has applied to the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, the University of Illinois and the University of Nevada, Reno.

She is a member of Wooster's Mock Trial Team, captain of the school's Academic Olympics team, a member of the Writer's Block Club and is a founding member of the school's Latin American Ambassador's club. She is also enrolled in Wooster's International Baccalaureate (IB) program.

As one of the nation's largest college financial aid programs, the Horatio Alger National Scholarship Program is the only major scholarship effort that specifically assists high school students who have faced and overcome great obstacles in their young lives. While many aid programs are directed primarily to recognizing academic achievement or leadership potential, the Horatio Alger program also seeks students who have a commitment to use their college degrees in service to others.

The National Scholarship Program is awarded to eligible students in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. National Scholars receive an all expenses paid trip to Washington D.C. in April to participate in the National Scholars Conference.