Three Lake County High School Sophomores Receive Full Scholarships to HMI

Benney, Gonzales, & Reigel Receive HMI Merit Scholarships

Lake County High School sophomores Ariel Benney and Bianca Gonzalez, and Abigail Reigel are the recipients of this year’s High Mountain Institute (HMI) merit scholarships.

Benney, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Charles & Suzi Benney, will attend HMI this summer, Gonzales, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Alberto & Vianca Gonzales, will attend HMI for the fall semester; Reigel, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Michael & Allison Reigel will attend HMI in the spring.

With an extremely competitive admissions year at HMI, these LCHS scholarship recipients were selected for their commitment to academics, leadership, and involvement in their greater communities.

The merit scholarships cover the full cost of tuition for each recipient, a $29,263 value for the HMI Semester, and a $8,650 value for the HMI Summer Term.

Since inception in 1998, 31 other LCHS students have attended HMI on full merit scholarships. Past LCHS HMI Alumni have attended colleges such as University of Denver, University of Colorado Boulder, and Colorado State University.

The High Mountain Institute is a semester-long boarding school for high school juniors. Each semester a new cohort of 48 students travel to Leadville from all over the country to partake in the school’s rigorous academic curriculum, extended backpacking expeditions, and a small, intentional community.

 In addition to the semester program, HMI offers a 5-week Summer Term for high schoolers, a two week backpacking trip for middle schoolers, and a variety of adult programs including wilderness medicine and avalanche awareness training. HMI also partners with the local non-profit Full Circle of Lake County each summer to offer a free, week-long backpacking program for LCHS 7th and 8th graders.