2007 Beat the Odds Winners

Anosha's dreams to attend college have been realized. In Afghanistan women and girls were prevented from attending school and forbidden to even work outside the home. After the Taliban murdered every male member of Anosha's family, she , her mother and her siblings were granted permission to come to America through a refugee resettlement program.

 

Being out of school for many years, posed significant challenges for Anosha and she worked overtime at school and at work to succeed. Anosha graduated on time from YES Prep high school while working to help support her family.

 

She is finally realizing her dreams to study film journalism at Brandeis University with a passion to educate the world about the hardships of life for middle eastern women.

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Zach was born with severe physical deformity and extensive damage to his right hand and forearm. Though he was born right hand dominant, he had to retrain himself in the use of his left hand.

 

Performing even the simplest tasks like buttoning or tying his shoes poses great challenge. In addition, Zach has received ongoing treatment for a rare cancer-like disease.

 

Despite having to be home-schooled for long periods of time, Zach excelled in his studies and was largely self-taught in many advanced subjects. He has battled back against all odds and has been recognized for his excellent playing of French Horn.

 

With the support of the Beat the Odds scholarship, Zach attends Texas A&M University.

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Ngan's childhood was marked by fear, violence and extreme poverty. She grew up in an immigrant family of five sharing a tiny one bedroom apartment. For many years, her father would drink all day and in the evenings beat her mother and her.

 

Ngan's home life was in constant flux as her mother would move the children from one relative to another to protect them from harm. Ngan did everything she could to avoid having to go home after school and immersed herself in JROTC to develop her self confidence. She dedicated long hours to the ROTC team and to working after school to help support her family.

 

She drew a great sense of pride and responsibility as the only Asian-American female to hold the rank of battalion commander. Ngan is attending the University of Texas at Austin where she is thriving and pursuing her education dreams free from harm.

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Fanny's family was torn apart when her father was tragically murdered in a politically motivated assasination in Honduras. Fanny's mother, who held a position at the central bank, moved the children to America in search for a safer and more stable life of opportunity.

 

The family struggled financially and it devasted Fanny to see her mother feel like a failure for having to work cleaning houses with an advanced degree.

 

Fanny's emotions and grades spiraled out of control until she suffered a severe emotional breakdown and depression. She worked hard to overcome her grief by developing new coping skills and study skills and by reaching out to help others in distress.

 

Fanny succeeded in turning around a progression of challenges that might have defeated her chances for a college education. With the help of the Beat the Odds scholarship she is attending Laurence University and living close to her closest support, her sister.

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