I founded the “It’s Her Time” College Scholarship in 2020 to help make higher education attainable for underserved girls in my hometown of White Plains. As the daughter of immigrants and a first generation college student on my father’s side, one of the greatest challenges of my life was figuring out how to pay for college without taking on decades worth of loans. An education at a four-year private university would not have been attainable had it not been for the ~$50,000 that I received during my senior year of high school after applying to dozens of external scholarships.
I partnered with the Friends of the White Plains Youth Bureau to create the “It’s Her Time” College Scholarship. Each year, we award scholarships of $1,800 each to four senior girls at White Plains High School who plan on pursuing a college education. We consider financial need and GPA, but the primary criteria of this scholarship is dedication to community service and leadership roles. We want to invest in students who are giving back to our beautiful community and display a passion for making the world a better place. We celebrate them each summer at beautiful event hosted by the Friends Board of Directors and at White Plains High School’s senior awards night.
Over four years, we have awarded nearly $25,000 to 8 students.