Wichita State University has selected Wichita Northwest High School senior Dulce Torres Gonzalez as the 2026 recipient of the $34,000 Mark and Stacy Parkinson Scholarship.  

The Parkinson Scholarship supports high-achieving incoming freshmen at Wichita State University who are the first in their families to pursue higher education and come from immigrant or refugee backgrounds. The renewable scholarship provides significant financial assistance and access to mentoring, leadership development and student success programming. Established by Kansans Mark and Stacy Parkinson, the fund reflects their commitment to expanding educational opportunities and strengthening communities through higher education. 

Torres Gonzalez, who ranks first in her graduating class, has distinguished herself as an exceptional scholar and student leader throughout high school. She earned a 6A Kansas state medal in informative speaking and qualified for the state level three times in both informative speaking and policy debate, as well as three times as a district qualifier in policy debate. Her academic excellence has been recognized with multiple honors, including merit, honor, excellence, distinction and special distinction awards from the National Speech and Debate Association. 

Torres Gonzalez is a varsity tennis athlete, finishing third in the Greater Wichita Athletic League and among the top varsity doubles at the regional level. Her commitment to service includes being named Volunteer of the Year at Cloud Elementary School in 2024 and receiving the Volunteer Merit Award in 2025. 

In addition to her many academic and extracurricular activities, Torres Gonzales works up to 30 hours a week at a part-time job. She plans to study political science at Wichita State with the goal of becoming a lawyer.  

Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 25,000 students between its main campus and the WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech), including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student-centered and innovation-driven.

Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students. The National Science Foundation ranked WSU No. 1 in the nation for aerospace engineering R&D, No. 2 for industry- and defense-funded engineering R&D and No. 9 overall for engineering R&D.

The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.

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