Marta Salinas’ short story, “The Scholarship Jacket”, shows the life of a Mexican-American girl in school. When the girl, Martha, was younger, she was given to her grandparents to raise because her parents were too poor to take care of her. Martha is the valedictorian of the eighth grade. Because she is valedictorian, she is awarded a scholarship jacket. This year, the scholarship jacket was not free, instead, it costs fifteen dollars. However, the only reason it costs fifteen dollars is the cause of some teachers considering to give it to the next student in line for valedictorian which is another student named Joann. Due to the influence of Joann's father and his part in the community as a store owner, some of the staff wanted Joann to have