A bright young lady celebrates her accomplishment after receiving a full scholarship to Harvard University.
A complete scholarship to pursue a bachelor’s degree at the esteemed Harvard University in Massachusetts, USA, has been granted to Elizabeth Esteban, a bright young girl.
Elizabeth, a Coachella Valley schoolgirl, is the daughter of immigrants from Mexico. After being admitted to Harvard University, an Ivy League school, she defied the odds.
According to her, being accepted is a dream come true for her because it is something that many young Latinos strive for. In addition to being accepted, she was awarded a full scholarship to the university.
“I feel very proud, grateful, and happy because no one here believes someone from here can accomplish something like this,” she added, adding that no one in the town had been able to do so.
According to Elizabeth, her parents are indigenous Mexicans who work in agriculture, and she grew up in a Coachella Valley mobile home. She claimed that although though her parents are not wealthy, they have worked hard to provide a better life for her and her siblings.
“Yes, it was worth it because my daughter has now fulfilled her lifelong dream of receiving an education, and I am very proud that she is accomplishing her goals,” Elizabeth’s mother remarked.
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She claimed that because Harvard’s most recent statistics shows that 40% of admitted students are white and only 5% are Latino, she nearly decided not to apply because she was afraid of being a low-income student.
She explained, “At first, I didn’t think my accomplishments earned me the right to attend such a prestigious university, so I wasn’t going to apply to Harvard.”
But having a low-income family wasn’t the only thing that stood in her way. She also mentioned that the pandemic drove her high school to close, which further hampered her ability to learn.
“Because I use the internet that the district provided us, I am among the students who also have issues with it,” Esteban stated.
She stated that she missed some of her Harvard admissions interviews due to the poor connectivity in the rural location where she resides. Thankfully, though, her efforts paid off in the end.
However, she added, “I reflected on myself and realized that I needed to keep fighting and that the pandemic was just one more challenge I had to overcome.”
Despite coming from a group that believes women should only be stay-at-home mothers, Elizabeth said she is proud and excited about her accomplishment and that she worked hard to break through cultural norms and pursue higher education.
“I felt proud and excited, every sort of emotion, because I never would have believed that a person like me would be accepted to a prestigious university,” Elizabeth said.
“I’m part of an indigenous group that feels that women should…be the stereotypical stay-at-home mother. I just wanted to break those barriers,” she added.
