Scholarship Winner
College: Fresno City College
Career goal: Undecided
About Nathalie: Nathalie Barroso has always been independent, wanting to take care of herself without putting stress on her parents by asking for money or material things. Her mother and father were teenagers when she was born, and many people questioned whether they were capable of being good parents. Growing up, Nathalie was the oldest of three children and always felt pressure to be a good example—to step up and be a “third parent” to her siblings when needed. She said her main goal was to make her parents proud and prove to everyone who ever had doubts that teen parents can be great and raise successful children.
Nathalie said her mother has become her biggest motivation, calling her the strongest person she knows and her “rock.” She said watching her mom go through rough times and persevere made her realize she, too, could do anything.
Financial hardships had prevented many people in Nathalie’s family from going to college, making her one of the first to do so. She said receiving scholarship funds has been a game-changer, relieving some of her stress about paying for college.
In Nathalie’s words: “My plan is to make it somewhere and be someone in this world. I want to make my mom proud and be a positive role model for my younger siblings.”
“Nathalie has worked very hard on her academics all year to reach her goal of graduating on time. In addition, she was an active member of DeWolf’s leadership team and served as the Student Advisory Board representative. She is the definition of what it means to never give up and stay focused on the prize. The Cobra family is so proud of her!”
– Nanci Gardner, teacher at DeWolf High School
