The Questbridge National College Match Scholarship provides a unique opportunity to roughly 2,000 individuals annually.  The scholarship offers the individual the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have college paid for, all four years, for travel, room and board, and materials such as books.  One of the 2,000 individuals to receive this unique opportunity this year was Holy Family senior, Elaine Garcia.

Elaine found out about the scholarship via her school email.  She received an email regarding the scholarship.   She filled out the application in October and on December 1st she received the news she had been waiting for.  She was accepted as an applicant for the scholarship and would have her college paid for if she went to one of the schools on the accepted list.   The Questbridge scholarship is only available to individuals that match a certain list of schools.  The schools on the list are seen as higher-ranking academic institutions that meet the criteria for the scholarship.  Schools would include Ivy League institutions such as Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth however Elaine will be using the scholarship to attend Tufts University in the fall.

Tufts University, a smaller, private research institution in Medford, MA boasts a student population of just over 6,000 and has an acceptance rate that hovers above and below 10%.  Elaine is beyond thrilled to attend such a prestigious institution and is excited for the opportunity that awaits her.  She plans to major in Architecture with a minor in Economics.  She wants to take Economics due to her enjoyment of Mr. Hartung’s economics class, but her main passion and goal for her education are how she wants to use her architecture degree.

Elaine intends to use her architecture degree to go back and help her family in the less fortunate parts of the world.  Elaine, who comes from both Guatemalan and Hispanic backgrounds, looks to go back to her home country and help build up to increase the standard of living.  Her parents, who could not be more excited and thrilled for their daughter, meet this task with extreme joy and excitement for their daughter’s future.  Elaine will be the first member of her family to finish college and looks to make her family proud in the process.  Elaine is thankful for the opportunity that the scholarship has provided and is excited to see how she can use it to impact the world around her.

I believe that I speak for everyone around here when I wish Elaine the best and hope that she can be as great a person, and a student in college as she was in high school.