Melissa Gonzalez Gutierrez, freshly graduated from Cranston High School West, is sharing the power of reading with disadvantaged kids, and she’s gotten a little bit of help: $1,000,000.

Winning the 2025 Transform Rhode Island Scholarship, 17-year-old Gutierrez’s million-dollar idea is to promote literacy in underserved communities by building creative and personalized little libraries.

A little library is a small, community-run book-sharing station – usually a decorated box – where anyone can freely take a book or leave one to share.

Born in Spain, Gutierrez said she didn’t speak English well as a child. Then, in second grade, her teacher told Gutierrez’s mother she would have to stay back because her reading wasn’t strong enough.

Determined to pass the grade, Gutierrez said she began reading books every day. A few months later, she moved on to the next grade. It is a transition she remembers vividly.

“Reading was the thing that pushed me to move on to the next level,” Gutierrez said. “I think books are very influential and powerful when you have the right one.”

Now she is paying it forward. She says her little libraries program will be for kids statewide, from third to 12th grade.

Gutierrez says her program will be led by teachers impressing upon kids the importance of reading and literacy. These classes will be hands-on, and while learning about reading, the kids will work on building their own little libraries.

Once the little libraries are built, they will be placed in low-income neighborhoods so kids in those communities will have easy access to the enlightening world of books.

Gutierrez said the three communities she focused on in her idea were Central Falls, Pawtucket and Providence.

Out of more than 600 applications, Gutierrez’s idea won the million-dollar investment competition held by the Rhode Island nonprofit scholarship organizer Papitto Opportunity Connection.

Stephanie Kaffenberger, Cranston West’s English Language Arts department chair, had Gutierrez in classes as a freshman and a senior. Gutierrez was a standout, she said.

“I think she sees a lot of the things that need to change in society, and she will be one of the people to do that,” Kaffenberger said. “And this scholarship will give her the confidence to do it.”

Gutierrez was announced as the winner at the scholarship ceremony held at the Graduate by Hilton Providence on May 28. In addition to the financial backing, Gutierrez will receive a $25,000 scholarship and will have a seat on the Papitto Opportunity Connection’s board of directors. 

Gutierrez said she felt immense gratitude for being there in the first place. She was thankful for the people supporting her and was excited her idea was chosen as the winner.

“To even make it this far, thank you,” Gutierrez said about her being a finalist for the scholarship. “My goal wasn't to be first place.”

But what turned out to be a surprise for Gutierrez began as a dedicated effort to create a project that spoke to her passion for reading.

She first applied for the same scholarship two years ago with a last-minute sports idea, but she didn’t win. After, she made a promise to herself to become a top 10 finalist with an idea that was true to her.

What followed was more than six months of preparation and planning focused on one theme: books.

From a list of any ideas that came to mind, on-the-street interviews with community members on how they felt about reading to creating a website about her idea for the judges, Gutierrez felt ready to apply when applications opened in January.

Following her entry into the top 10, Gutierrez was chosen as the winner of the scholarship by a panel of judges that included state Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Angélica M. Infante-Green and the managing trustee of POC, John Tarantino.

As Gutierrez develops the little libraries program, she will also be preparing for a new chapter of her own: college. She will attend Providence College this fall, studying political science and planning to become a lawyer.