Two Puerto Rican high school students who came to\u00a0Orlando to escape the destruction from\u00a0Hurricane Maria were surprised today\u00a0with scholarships from\u00a0Valencia College and the Â鶹ӳ»´«Ã½.<\/p>\n
Yerianne Roldan and Zuleyka Avila were seniors at Ramey School and University Gardens High School, respectively, in Puerto Rico when Hurricane Maria hit\u00a0in late September. Yerianne and her family relocated to Orlando for her mother’s job, and Zuleyka fled the island to live with her grandfather and siblings in Orlando. Both girls, 17 years old, enrolled at Colonial High School to finish their senior years and left\u00a0behind plans they already had in place to attend college in Puerto Rico. Neither of them know at this point\u00a0if they can or will return to the island.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In an effort to help the students still pursue a higher education, Linda Neal, dean of communication from Valencia College’s East Campus, and Adrienne Frame, associate vice president and dean of students at Â鶹ӳ»´«Ã½, joined Jesus Jara, deputy superintendent of\u00a0Orange County Public Schools, and Jose Martinez, Colonial High School principal, to surprise the girls and their families with\u00a0commitments to help them\u00a0financially\u00a0should they choose to attend Valencia and then transfer to Â鶹ӳ»´«Ã½ through DirectConnect to Â鶹ӳ»´«Ã½ to complete their bachelor\u2019s degrees.<\/p>\n
The surprise happened at Colonial’s Media Center and left both the girls and their families in tears.<\/p>\n
“I’m just so happy to now have some help,” Zuleyka said.\u00a0Her mother is\u00a0in Puerto Rico trying to sell whatever she can before permanently relocating to Orlando.<\/p>\n
“Family is still in Puerto Rico and communication is really hard. They try to seem happy and ask me how things are going here. I’m so lucky for the situation I’m in. I wish everyone had the same,” Yerianne said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over the past few days, Yerianne and her family\u00a0had been discussing what options are\u00a0available for her to attend college and what scholarships she could pursue. The financial assistance offered to her today took a heavy weight off her shoulders, she said.<\/p>\n
Jara praised the girls for their rigorous class schedules at Colonial, as both are enrolled in numerous Advanced Placement courses. Yerianne aspires to study graphic design or advertising, and Zuleyka aspires to be a pediatrician.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Martinez also applauded the strong partnership between the school district, Valencia and Â鶹ӳ»´«Ã½ that has helped impact the lives of these students for the better.<\/p>\n
“At Â鶹ӳ»´«Ã½, we believe in harnessing the power of scale to transform the lives and livelihoods of our students and their families through the pursuit\u00a0of higher education,” said Frame. “We are so happy to join our partners to help these students.”<\/p>\n
Â鶹ӳ»´«Ã½ is offering in-state tuition next semester\u00a0to Puerto Rican students impacted by Hurricane Maria. More than 800 students from Puerto Rico since have applied to Â鶹ӳ»´«Ã½,\u00a0said Frame.\u00a0<\/p>\n