The sudden change in reality is mind-boggling.

"I can do whatever I want and go wherever I want," Cristina Medrano said, her words flecked with wonder.

The Nampa High senior, who earlier had worried about having enough money to go to college anywhere, is one of four graduating seniors in Canyon County who learned last month they are among seven seniors statewide who won Gates Millennium Scholarships. They represent more than half of Idaho's 2009 crop of Gates scholars.

Given to high-achieving minority students with low family incomes, the Gates Foundation scholarships even the playing field and then some, bankrolling students' living and academic expenses for as far as they want to take their education.

"This tremendous weight has been lifted off of me," said Caldwell High winner Yesenia Dominguez, who had planned to study close to home her first two years because she couldn't afford on-campus living.

Wilder winners Arizbeth Angeles and Brenda Morales grew up together in the Chula Vista labor camp, both dreaming of exotic journeys. Now both expect to study abroad, with the travel tab picked up by the foundation.

Medrano also plans at least one study sojourn overseas. And, like Morales and Angeles, she will be the first in her family to go to college.

"I will be an example for my younger sister and my nephews and nieces," said Medrano, the eighth of nine children.

All of the winners cite strong support from their families.

"They know how hard it is without a degree," Angeles said. "They didn't want me working in the fields by their side."

Teachers and counselors abound with admiring adjectives when talking about the young scholars, saying their first-class minds are paired with world-class character.

"She's very gracious and very grateful," Caldwell High counselor Holland Johnson said of Dominguez. "She has a tremendous work ethic, a nice way of relating to people and a commitment to doing the right thing."

Those who know the other local winners have very similar comments.

"She's not just a science nerd," Nampa High chemistry teacher Jim Kusterer said of Medrano, citing her efforts mentoring other students and her weekend job at a local senior citizens home. "She just shines at everything she does."

WHAT WILL THEY DO?

Medrano didn't speak English when she moved to Nampa from Mexico six years ago. Thrust into a system full of words she didn't understand, "my favorite class was math because it's all about numbers," she said.

Now fluent in English, she plans to become an electrical engineer. She also wants to become certified as a high school teacher, she said, "to impact lives like my teachers have impacted me."

She'll start college this fall at Utah State, which she couldn't afford on her own but applied to just in case she got the Gates. Without it, she planned to go to the University of Idaho, where in-state tuition could be covered by the other scholarships she received. She expects to transfer later to the University of California - Berkeley, or perhaps Stanford, and eventually earn a master's degree and doctorate.

Dominguez has long dreamt of becoming a dental hygienist and will start school at Idaho State. Without the Gates, she would have lived at home and attended Boise State for her first two years.

Counselor Johnson and others are encouraging Dominguez to broaden her dream.

"I said, now, Yesenia, you could go all the way - go to any school you want and be a dentist," Johnson said. "Here's an opportunity that will take you as far as you want to go, and not many people have that."

Dominguez figures she'll eventually go on to an out-of-state college and pursue an advanced degree, but for now she's happy with her hygienist plans: "When I get my teeth cleaned, it just kind of gets me excited. I wish I was that person cleaning the teeth."

Her interest in health care was sparked by a yearlong bout with cancer that had her in and out of hospitals at age 8, missing a lot of school.

Unique among the four, Angeles isn't sure what she wants to do for a career. Nursing is a possibility, she said, but she's savoring her myriad options.

"This gives me more opportunities to explore everything and take advantage of what school has to offer," she said.

She plans to start her college career at the College of Idaho. Without the Gates, she would have chosen a lower-cost option, she said.

Her friend Morales, already a certified nursing assistant, plans to become a registered nurse and likely continue into graduate school.

She's going to Concordia University in Portland, a highly rated nursing school she applied to just in case she won a Gates Millennium Scholarship.

THE WILDER FACTOR

Schools throughout the Valley encourage promising minority students to go for the Gates, as does the Boise State University-based TRIO pre-college program for low-income students.

But at tiny Wilder Middle-High School, the possibility of winning the prestigious prize is a major motivator for pursuing excellence.

"Since, like, middle school, they've been talking to us about the Gates scholarship - that if you keep your grades up, do community service and show leadership, you could get it," Arizbeth Angeles said.

"They hear it from everyone from the time they're little, so they begin believing it," Wilder school counselor Judy Secord said. "Our students have done amazingly well."

This year's two winners represent a sizable chunk of the 24-member graduating class at Wilder, she noted, and they bring the total number of Wilder Gates winners to nine since 2002 - the most from any Idaho high school.

"This is the third time we've had two in one year," Secord said, citing double wins in 2004 and '05

It helps that the school's student body closely fits the scholarship program's demographic: At least 80 percent of Wilder's students are Hispanic, she said, and about 95 percent fall below the federal poverty level.

"It's an amazing opportunity, and the families get on board, too," she said. "Many of the parents are field workers, and they want something better for their kids."

Like her counterparts at other Gates-graced schools, Secord spoke glowingly of the students' compassion and commitment.

"The world needs kids like this," Secord said. "And this culture needs kids like this - people who are well-educated and bilingual and accomplished.

"These guys are the leaders of tomorrow. It's awesome."

Kristin Rodine: 377-6447