Triana Sanchez-Gonzalez — a student at John Abbot College — has just been awarded a Horatio Alger scholarship.
She is one of only 85 students across the country to earn the award.
The $5,000 scholarships are given to students who have overcome adversity and show strength of character, among other qualities.
“To get the scholarship you have to have financial issues, you have to have high grades and you need to be involved in your community,” Sanchez-Gonzalez said.
She applied for the scholarship last year and wasn’t picked, but that didn’t stop her from trying again.
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With a grade average of 94 per cent, Sanchez-Gonzalez worked on improving her candidacy by doing more volunteer work.
“I have been volunteering with people with special needs at John Abbot and with the elderly and Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue’s hospital,” she said.
A very humble Sanchez-Gonzalez told Global News she was surprised to learn she had won.
“It was great, I was really surprised, I really did not think that I would be accepted for the scholarship, that I would receive it,” she said.
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Sanchez-Gonzalez hopes to pursue her studies at McGill University, drawing on her past as she looks to the future.
“I had a rough childhood and because of that I want to work with troubled youth when I’m older,” she said, adding that she’s considering her options.
“I’m applying for law because I think that if I become a mediator, a family lawyer, even work with child services that could help me improve the situations of some vulnerable children. And as well in social work; that would be a little more hands-on than law.”
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While Sanchez-Gonzalez doesn’t see herself as a role model, she did have a bit sound life advice.
“I just say to try your best for everything. If you need anything, ask for it — just do everything you can.
The scholarship is named after Horatio Alger Jr. – a 19th century writer — whose books inspired a generation of readers to pursue their dreams – that with hard work and perseverance, it was possible to overcome adversity.
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