Spring Branch ISD Featured News

KPRC-TV 2 reporter Owen Conflenti surprised Memorial High’s Nina Solovyeva in her morning Spanish class on Jan. 28 and presented the senior with the first of 20 Texas Mattress Makers Senior Scholarships to be awarded by the local news station. These scholarships for soon-to-be graduates are valued at $2,500 each.

Nina, who grew up in Russia and the United States, enrolled in Frostwood Elementary as a fifth-grader, and then attended Memorial Middle and Memorial High. She is a top student and co-valedictorian, a four-year varsity tennis player who played on the state championship 2017 MHS team, and co-founder of a nonprofit serving cancer patients.

She hasn’t made a final decision, but has been accepted at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, Calif., one of her top choices. She plans to study computer science as an undergraduate.

Houston-based KPRC-TV 2 this winter and spring will issue 20 scholarships to highly deserving seniors in public high schools in Harris, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston and Montgomery counties. The news station has given out scholarships for several years.

“It was hard growing up in two countries because of the different cultures, the different languages and lack of family,” Nina said after her surprise visit by TV 2’s Conflenti and others. She learned the good news in her morning Spanish 5 class.

“I was honored to simply be nominated for the scholarship,” Nina said, “but then to be actually awarded it is amazing. I am beyond grateful to have received it, and happy to know that my story and accomplishments were interesting. I was really surprised and very excited to hear my name being called.”

Memorial High counselor Kate Wright was one of several proud observers during her scholarship presentation. She helped nominate Nina for the award.

“Nina exemplifies (Memorial) Mustang Spirit by striving for excellence and caring for her community,” Wright said. “She works incredibly hard, yet remains humble about her own accomplishments. She is a leader in our campus and community, and we can’t wait to see what she does next!”

Growing up in two countries has made her a better person, Nina said. “It definitely made me more open minded, and allowed me to understand different perspectives. I am most grateful for the new relationships I have formed in the United States, as well as being able to keep my old ones from Russia.”

Doing well academically is a top priority for her, as it can pave the way forward. “Taking time to understand every subject and do well on tests is very important to me,” she said.

She began tennis lessons at age 10, and competing just two years later. “Tennis has allowed me to make new friendships, and also toughen my mental stamina,” she said.

Nina, who enjoys regular and tournament competition, was on varsity tennis for all four years. She went to state tournaments every year, and was a member of the 2017 state championship tennis team, an incredible and valued lifetime memory.

She is also a member of growing student nonprofit group called SOAR, or Students for Oncological Aid and Relief, which creates care packages filled with useful and uplifting items for cancer patients. SOAR has raised more than $30,000 through events ranging from a run/walk to a benefit concert. It now has 150 members and local chapters in four separate states. 

Her parents, Peter Traynin and Olga Solovyeva, support her many efforts and were on hand to view her surprise recent scholarship announcement. 

“We are very proud of Nina,” her father said. “There is a lot of competition in high school, and she certainly works hard and deserves a special scholarship like this.”