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Four Desert Mirage students receive $20,000 BNP Paribas Open scholarships

shad powers, palm springs desert sun
·3 min read

For a few brief minutes after Daniil Medvedev defeated Frances Tiafoe and before Carlos Alcaraz took out Jannik Sinner on Saturday, the attention of the Stadium 1 crowd at the BNP Paribas Open belonged to four students from Desert Mirage High School.

Caitlyn Hill, Stephanie De La Rosa, Daniel Fernandez-Robles and Jose Hernandez-Beltran, all members of the graduating class of 2023, were named this year's BNP Paribas Open scholarship winners.

Each student receives $20,000 from the BNP Paribas Open to go toward their college education.

"I'm so grateful for this opportunity and it It changes my options for college," Hill said. "Instead of just choosing a college based on financial needs, I can choose one based on the programs it has and where I really want to go."

Hill, the Desert Valley League singles MVP, said she hasn't committed yet between UC Irvine, UCLA and Notre Dame, but plans to study aerospace engineering.

From left, Jean-Yves Fillion, Caitlyn Hill, Stephanie De La Rosa, Jose Hernandez-Beltran, Daniel Fernandez-Robles and Peggy Michel take a photo on the court during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., March 18, 2023. The Desert Mirage students were awarded with a scholarship during the presentation.
From left, Jean-Yves Fillion, Caitlyn Hill, Stephanie De La Rosa, Jose Hernandez-Beltran, Daniel Fernandez-Robles and Peggy Michel take a photo on the court during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., March 18, 2023. The Desert Mirage students were awarded with a scholarship during the presentation.

The four Desert Mirage seniors were celebrated Thursday morning at the school during an assembly as Jean-Yves Fillion, CEO of BNP Paribas USA, and his team awarded the four students with their oversized checks as the marching band played and cheerleaders rooted them on. Then on Saturday at the BNP Paribas Open, the two girls got to hand the trophy to the women's doubles team on the court after their match and the two boys got to do the same after the men's doubles match.

This is the seventh consecutive year the BNP Paribas Open has awarded these scholarships, and that includes 2020 when the tennis tournament didn't happen.

"We are very proud to once again offer scholarships to tennis-playing students from the Coachella Valley as they demonstrate that success is measured not only by individual achievements but also by how those talents are used to help others," Fillion said, who added that visiting the school and seeing not just the winners but the whole student body celebrate is "one of my favorite things I do each year during the tournament."

Each student must be a member of their high school tennis team, a senior, and they also write an essay explaining why they would be a good choice for the scholarship.

De La Rosa, who plans to attend UC Irvine and is leaning toward studying economic development and public administration, said this week has been a whirlwind and that seeing the professional women's tennis players up close was life-changing.

From left, Stephanie De La Rosa and Caitlyn Hill pose for a photo with the womenÕs doubles champions Katerina Siniakova, right, and Barbora Krejcikova during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Mar. 19, 2023.
From left, Stephanie De La Rosa and Caitlyn Hill pose for a photo with the womenÕs doubles champions Katerina Siniakova, right, and Barbora Krejcikova during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Mar. 19, 2023.

"It's amazing to see how passionate they are on the court and see their emotions as they are playing," De La Rosa said. "They really enjoy this sport and it kind of inspires you too to see that."

For Fernandez-Robles, this whole experience has given him a jolt of confidence, aside from the much-needed financial assistance, especially when their names were announced while they were on the court Saturday and the crowd roared as Fillion introduced each one.

"It was pretty awesome. I was a bit nervous when I was down there, but once I got out there I didn't feel too nervous. I was just so honored and it was so satisfying," said Fernandez-Robles, who plans to attend Cal Berkeley and study psychology. "I don't really see myself as someone who is very important but in situations like these, where I'm up on stage, it makes me feel like I should have more self-worth than I actually do. It's been amazing."

The word Hernandez-Beltran kept coming back to describe his experience was "grateful." His original plan was to attend College of the Desert, but now he is heading to UCLA to study mechanical engineering. This scholarship means a lot to him.

"It's been a blessing, not only, of course, the scholarship but to interact with all the people at the tournament and the players and everyone with the BNP Paribas Open scholarship," Hernandez-Beltran said. "We acknowledge that we come from low-income families, and I'm so grateful to be considered. It truly is something ... I'm just so grateful."

Stephanie De La Rosa, left, and Caitlyn Hill chat with Katerina Siniakova when the two Desert Mirage students were awarded with a scholarship during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Mar. 18, 2023.
Stephanie De La Rosa, left, and Caitlyn Hill chat with Katerina Siniakova when the two Desert Mirage students were awarded with a scholarship during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Mar. 18, 2023.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: BNP Paribas Open: Four Desert Mirage students the recipients of this year's scholarship money