High Point.- A young Hispanic woman from High Point won a prestigious full scholarship that will cover her studies at one of the best universities in North Carolina.
When Lourdes Maribel Reyes Cabrera was just 11 years old, her entire family made the decision to leave El Estruendo, a prominent neighborhood in the province of Choluteca, Honduras.
Gang crime was rampant and the search for a better education were some of the powerful reasons why his parents bought plane tickets to the United States in search of the American dream.
Seven years later, part of that dream, the one she nurtured with perseverance, dedication and many hours of study, is bearing fruit.
Reyes Cabrera was awarded a scholarship in the prestigious Morehead-Cain Scholars program.
“The program offers 75 scholarships around the world and I got one of them. I think I’m the only one in North Carolina, ”she said excitedly in an interview with Qué Pasa.
Morehead-Cain winners receive a full scholarship to study at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and receive access to a network of peers, challenging internships and summer experiences, and more.
For Lourdes, this scholarship will be the first step in achieving her dream of becoming a biologist and then making the leap to medicine. “Two careers that I am passionate about,” she said.
passion for study
When asked what she did to be one of the privileged with the scholarship, she reveals the recipe: passion for studying and taking the initiative.
Those ingredients were mixed with other ingredients that she planted out of love for the community and that, without knowing it, helped her in her new life.
Cabrera was actively involved in Battle of the Books, soccer and badminton at High Point Central High and is a passionate volunteer in her community.
The Central American worked in local food banks through her Casa De Oración church. She also worked with adult English learners at the Latino Family Center.
“I feel blessed and very grateful to my mom,” she says in honor of the woman from whom she inherited that desire to help others.
“Until now I can’t believe it”, she adds very cautiously, without wanting to shine a light on one of her first triumphs in life. And it is that she is like that, humble, generous, intelligent and sensitive and a passionate reader.
“It has been an honor and a pleasure to meet Lourdes,” said Allison Kelly, director of the English department at High Point Central High, in a statement announcing the scholarship student.
“It is a rare experience to meet a student who is academically gifted, genuinely philanthropic and generally a joy to be around. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this scholarship,” replies Kelly, outlining the 18-year-old who we’re sure will take on the world.
