WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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I'm from, like, the smallest
town you can imagine.

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So this is like a
complete culture shock,

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and it's amazing.

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So I really wanted to come here.

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I wanted to be on grounds.

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I wanted to be a UVA student.

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I thought it was a long shot.

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So I just applied.

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It was really exciting.

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[LAUGHS]

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The first word I read was
"congratulations." (CRYING)

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And I just jumped up
and started crying.

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I was so happy.

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It was always a priority for me.

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I always did well in school.

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I always wanted
to-- I always knew

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I was going to go to college.

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I was college-bound.

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According to all the
teachers and everyone,

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I was college-bound.

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But in my household, it
was a little different.

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I'm paying for my own college.

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And I'm out of state, so
it just wasn't going to be

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able to happen, most likely.

00:00:45.790 --> 00:00:48.790
And I got a phone call
from someone wanting

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to talk to me about the
scholarship. (LAUGHING)

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And I didn't know what
she was talking about.

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And it was really exciting
to me and my family.

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There's a chance I might not
be able to be here without it.

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Having that stress off
of me, it helps me focus

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on what I actually want to do.

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It opens up all of the doors.

00:01:07.060 --> 00:01:09.520
So if I want to
go to PA school, I

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want to go to med school or
nutrition grad school, that

00:01:12.730 --> 00:01:14.410
can still be an option.

00:01:14.410 --> 00:01:16.000
I'm majoring in kinesiology.

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It's going to involve a lot
of research, a lot of research

00:01:18.520 --> 00:01:19.300
opportunities.

00:01:19.300 --> 00:01:22.840
If I go into physics, I know
that there's opportunities

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to create new and clean energy.

00:01:26.300 --> 00:01:29.530
I hope to have a lab space
with a team of people

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looking at problems that are
facing certain countries.

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I'm hoping to one day
return to the Middle East

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and start working and doing
advocacy for women's rights.

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I really want to help people.

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Getting the scholarship
means that someone is

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willing to invest in my future.

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It just opens up an
entire future to me

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that I might not have otherwise.

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I want to take everything
I learned from UV

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and bring it back home with me.

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I didn't do this by myself.

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There were a lot of
people helping me.

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[MUSIC PLAYING]