Coeur d'Alene High School senior and Class of 2021 valedictorian Lilian Smith has a good reason to feel effervescent lately.

A great $20,000 reason, in fact.

"I honestly feel so awesome," Lilian said Friday.

Lilian was given a gift of academic gold on St. Patrick's Day when she learned she was named one of just 150 high school seniors across America who are in the 33rd class of Coca-Cola Scholars. She is the only Idaho student, and one of about 10 Northwest students, chosen for this coveted honor.

"I was freaking out, I was like, where’s Mom!? Where’s Dad!?" Lilian said. "I sprinted, I've never run so fast in my life. They were at the beach, I was screaming, 'I got it! I got it!"

The Coca-Cola Scholarship Foundation will provide Lilian and each of her high-achieving counterparts with a $20,000 college scholarship. Lilian will join a family of more than 6,450 alumni who are creating positive change in their communities and around the world.

Lilian has already met some of these students via video conference, and she's loving connecting with new like-minded friends.

"What means the most to me is getting to meet those amazing people," she said. "It's scary how impressive they are, and just getting to talk to them about what they care about. Getting to know them as human beings is probably the best thing about it."

Less than one-sixth of 1% of the scholarship applicants were chosen to receive this competitive award. These students, who were selected from a pool of just more than 99,400 applications, exemplify superior leadership, service and academics. They are agents of change who positively affect others in their communities.

Lilian has a heart for education and a determination to advocate for the student voice. This young activist has already been accepted to Yale University.

"I was bawling my eyes out," she said. "I thought I had no chance. Best day ever."

She has a number of universities she is still waiting to hear from, including Berkley UCLA, Washington University in St. Louis and North Carolina Chapel Hill.

She wants to double major in chemistry and public policy or political science, and minor in education studies. Her dream is to be the secretary of education.

Lilian said her teachers "have been so amazing, and they are the best teachers in the world."

"This is all because of you guys," she said in a shout-out to her teachers. "Thank you for giving me all the resources to be successful. Keep doing what you're doing."

The Coca-Cola Scholars program is the largest corporate-sponsored, achievement-based scholarship program in the United States. It is a joint effort of Coca-Cola bottlers across the country and the Coca‑Cola Company. With the addition of the Class of 2021, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation will have provided more than 6,450 Coke Scholars nationwide with more than $75 million in scholarships in 33 years.

In addition to college scholarships, the Coca-Cola Scholars will be welcomed into a family of alumni that has become a force for positive change in the world. Through networking, collaborations and friendships, this group strives to make a greater collective impact.

Recent initiatives include a podcast titled "The SIP;" the Coke Scholars Care program, which entails Coke Scholars doing good in the midst of the pandemic; and the fifth year of a coaching program that partners alumni with first-year Scholars as they transition to college. Every five years, all alumni are invited to a Coca-Cola Scholars Leadership Summit.