let it stop her from becoming a fierce woman. Seeing the lack of female representation in her advanced math courses, she founded a math club at her school to encourage more participation by women in Calculus classes. She aspires to be a leader in the STEAM industries, where she hopes to change the male-dominated tech industry. She will be attending New York University in the fall.

Lara Family Scholarship

Get this young man from the Ivory Coast talking about his Tribeca Film Festival Grand Prize winning video and his creative ideas for new movies, and you will find his love for the process infectious. He immigrated to the U.S. three years ago and despite facing many challenges, including homelessness, this young man has excelled academically. He finds time to tutorother students in math and history, plays midfield on his school’s soccer team and works 20 hours per week to support himself. In the fall, he will attend Fairfield University where he will major in political science and film production.

AEF Achievement Scholarship

A fierce young woman, who emigrated from Mexico at a young age, she was denied participation in various after-school programs due to her immigration status, but “nevertheless, she persisted,” as she wrote in her essay. Despite being in challenging circumstances herself, she has a passion for helping others and has raised funds for earthquake victims in Mexico, and Hurricane Maria survivors in Puerto Rico. This future marketing executive will be attending the University of Pennsylvania this fall.

AEF Board Scholarship

Labeled a “special case,” due a childhood hearing impairment,