Dear readers: Meet Suhani, Mattison, Mickael, Tensae, Noah, Valeria and Teklemariam.

These seven rockstars, all high school seniors, are among this year’s finalists for a coveted Daniels Scholarship. It was my privilege to be part of a panel that interviewed them a week ago.

Amidst the chaos, conflict and cacophony of our times, depression can be all too common and hope hard to come by. This day of interviews provided the perfect antidote. America is replete with talent and inspiration often to be found in unexpected quarters.

Suhani is as articulate and poised as any candidate I have met in 15 years of doing these interviews. Tensae is deeply grounded in her values, a product of her upbringing in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Both aspire to be biomedical engineers.

Noah is headed to a career in either music or economics. When not captaining his school’s cross-country running team, he plays the piano and sings for elders with dementia in memory care. Tek is an imposing presence with big ambitions to be a high-flying New York attorney. The world is his oyster.

Having spent her foundational years at Escuela de Guadalupe and Arrupe Jesuit High School, Valeria is an impressive young woman, exhibiting grounding, sacrifice and ambition. She intends to study nursing before becoming an entrepreneur and starting her own business. Mickael’s soft-spoken manner does little to mask his deep intelligence. His interest is in international relations. I would not be surprised if “Ambassador” ultimately precedes his name.

Then there is Mattie coming from a multi-generational background in Denver’s long-trampled Swansea neighborhood. Through her teenage years, she has been a frequently published writer in another publication. She heads the Conservative Club at her urban high school where conservatism is far from the dominant strain of thought.

As I said, standouts and inspirations, all.

Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, the Daniels Fund has awarded 5,250 Daniels Scholarships to outstanding students in the four states of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico. The grant allows the student to attend the college or university of their choosing, in-state or out-of-state, public or private.

All told, over these 25 years, the Daniels Fund has spent over $300 million in scholarship dollars. That is serious coin by any measure.

In this current cycle, 3,600 high school seniors across the four states applied for a Daniels Scholarship. That was whittled down to 410 finalists who were interviewed in-person by invited volunteers. Around the end of March, 225 applicants will receive the happy, potentially life-changing news of their scholarship award.

I guarantee you that Suhani, Mattie, Mickael, Tensae, Noah, Valeria and Tek will be waiting with both anticipation and anxiety.

This scholarship is so representative of the values and purposes of the namesake and sole grantor, Bill Daniels.

For those of more recent vintage, Daniels was the prototypical 20th century combat pilot, entrepreneur and American success story. Early on, he saw the potential for cable television and became the industry’s pioneer.

Daniels owned his personal flaws including his struggles with alcoholism. His was far from a perfect life. But it was a life marked by success and then by a deep investment in philanthropy and giving back.

He did not always gravitate to the polished and credentialed. In keeping with his persona, the Daniels Scholarship prioritizes not just high grades and academic excellence, but vision and ambition, the internal wherewithal to make it happen, an abiding patriotism, a commitment to service and community, and a demonstrated knack for overcoming hardship.

Many of the applicants I have interviewed over the years have that last quality and lived experience in spades.

Some of the Scholars from years ago are now approaching middle age. They hold leading positions in every field of endeavor in our diverse country. One Scholar alum is an engineer working on a new supersonic airplane while another was named Ms. Rodeo America 2024. You get the picture.

One Scholar from a dozen years ago to whom our family grew particularly close is a digital marketing expert, the owner of a high-end bakery and the mother of two delightful little ones.

At the same time, now at age 30, Haleema struggles to balance her integration into our often coarse American culture with honoring her Pakistani Muslim roots.

On that score, it is not lost on me that many Scholars come from immigrant families. It is the thoroughly American story of immigrants striving, achieving, overcoming and climbing the ladder.

Hats off to Bill Daniels and the Daniels Fund. If we are to get out of our self-inflicted mess and heal our nation, the best move is to bet on this cadre of truly exceptional young people.

Eric Sondermann is a Colorado-based independent political commentator. He writes regularly for ColoradoPolitics and the Gazette newspapers. Reach him at EWS@EricSondermann.com; follow him at @EricSondermann