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Taking the Risk — and Watching It Pay Off
She walked through the doors of DSST: Montview as a 6th grader with a love of art and a dream of a career in New York City. Seven years later, she's walking out as a Gates Scholarship finalist, a Northwestern University admit, and one of the most community-rooted students at DSST: Montview.
Meet Gracie Orenday-Ortiz, a leader who has spent her entire middle and high school career becoming exactly who she was meant to be.
Finding Home in a Diverse Community
For Gracie, DSST was never just a school. It was a community that saw her fully.
"DSST is a very diverse school, and we pride ourselves a lot on our diversity," she shared. "Being part of that community — as someone who is, in a way, a minority — has been really comforting."
That sense of belonging is at the heart of what DSST strives to build every day. At DSST, we cultivate schools where every student feels valued, known, and empowered to thrive while eliminating educational inequity. For Gracie, that showed up in the teachers who shaped her identity, the programs that expanded her knowledge and the peers who became her community.
A Student Who Said Yes to Everything
One of the most remarkable things about Gracie's journey is how fully she leaned into every opportunity the network had to offer. Over seven years, she:
- Participated in ArtLab, an internship that deepened her creative practice
- Joined Rock the Street Wall Street, a club focused on women in business and finance
- Enrolled in Minds Matter, which supported her college readiness and professional development from sophomore year onward
- Served as an intern through DSST's Creative Content Cohort, where she built real-world marketing skills and grew in self-confidence
- Founded and led her school's dance club — a passion she discovered junior year that she plans to carry into college
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This is precisely what DSST is designed to do: give students creative, collaborative, and engaging experiences that empower them to explore who they are and where they want to go. For Gracie, it worked.
The College Journey: 19 Applications, Endless Possibility
Gracie started thinking about college in 7th grade.
"Since middle school, I've worked really hard to get good grades, take part in extracurriculars, community service, sports, leadership roles — really anything," she said.
What began as a dream of art school in New York evolved, as Gracie did. A summer program helped her realize her passion had shifted. Business, marketing, international relations, East Asian studies — her curiosity kept expanding. She explored. She tried new things. And she found clarity.
By senior year, Gracie applied to 19 colleges — 8 in Colorado and 11 out of state — with a clear vision of what she needed: a strong business or marketing program, robust study abroad opportunities, and a community where she could keep growing into herself.
The results? She was accepted to every Colorado school she applied to, including:
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Denver
Colorado State University
Metropolitan State University of Denver
University of Colorado Denver
University of Colorado Colorado Springs
University of Northern Colorado
Colorado Mesa University
And beyond Colorado, she earned admission to Northwestern University — and is awaiting results from her dream schools: the University of Southern California and New York University. She is also a Gates Scholarship finalist. 🌟
The People Who Helped Her Get There
Gracie is quick to credit the village behind her success.
But this year, one relationship stood out above the rest: Ms. Nuvia Mendoza.
"What's been a really big help is my college counselor. The way she's made the college application process so much easier — I really owe a lot to her."
This is the promise DSST makes to every family. Beginning in 9th grade, DSST's College Success team works hand-in-hand with students and parents — providing individualized support, regular family meetings, and guidance through every step of the application and financial aid process. Since 2008, 100% of DSST graduates have been admitted to college or a postsecondary program.
"I have friends who go to other schools and they feel they don't receive as much help finding out how to pay for college or how to apply," Gracie said. "Having DSST focus so much on seniors getting into college and being able to afford it — that's something I'm really grateful for."
A Letter to Her Freshman Self
When asked what advice she'd give her 9th-grade self, Gracie didn't hesitate:
"Don't take everything so seriously. Live in the present while preparing for the future. Try new things — because you're still growing and you won't know all the answers yet. Just have fun."
It's wisdom like this that reflects the kind of self-awareness DSST works to cultivate in every student — the ability to hold ambition and joy at the same time, to pursue goals without losing yourself in the process.
The Moment She's Been Waiting For
Perhaps the most moving part of Gracie's story is this: she has been dreaming about Senior Signing Day since 8th grade.
"I remember going to Senior Signing Day as an 8th grader and seeing all the seniors up there — sharing where they were going to college, what scholarships they got. Since that moment, I've always imagined how exciting it would be when that happened to me."
That moment is almost here."I'm closing this chapter of my life on a good note," she said simply. "And moving on to the next one."
We will be cheering you on every step of the way, Gracie. 💙
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