“Shortly after entering my senior year, the reality of my situation became painfully clear. There was so much doubt in my mind during college decision time. It was a great fear of mine to be put into crippling debt due to my decision to pursue a secondary education. That being said, I was lucky enough to have found this beautiful organization when I did. I received the 2023 and 2024 Fortaleza Scholarships, which helped me afford my current educational institution, Regis College in Weston, MA. My school is over $50,000 a year, and yet, with the help of these scholarships, I am 100% debt-free. Without the financial burden, I have been able to flourish in college. I have maintained a 4.0 GPA as an Honors Program student. I work with Bentley University to help young Afghan women learn conversational English through the Rawan School Project. I am a leader in my college community via my involvement in social justice movements. I moderated panels at the Regis College Spring Social Justice Symposium. I also got to present my research on the Declining Life Expectancy of Blue-Collar Workers and won a Social Justice Award for it. This is just the beginning of the list of achievements I’ve made, all thanks to Fortaleza’s contribution to my education. I will be forever grateful to Fortaleza for allowing me to be great and go on to support others.”