2009 Winners

Cinthia grew up in extreme poverty, often going to bed cold and hungry. The family emigrated from Mexico in search of the American dream. Her mother has struggled to provide for 4 children in minimum wage jobs. Her father is an abusive alcoholic who has been in and out of jail. Cinthia had to call the cops on her father many times for beating her mother and siblings. In school, she has excelled in advanced placement classes and is in the top 10% of her graduating class. She is Vice Group commander of the Air Force JROTC from which she has also received national recognition for her community service. Cinthia hopes to obtain a PhD in psychology from UT San Antonio.

Rudy was born in the U.S. but grew up in Mexico where he attended a very poor school that provided next to no education. Rudy compensated by reading huge amounts of information independently to teach himself years' worth of material in less than one month. When his parents sent him to the U.S. in 7th grade, he learned English in just 6 months. In high school he was moved from ESL directly into Honors classes and is currently ranked 15 in his class of 625. He has worked very hard to excel in English and also holds leadership positions in History Club, Choir, Academic Decathalon and the swim team. After school, he works a full job at HEB to contribute to his family. He will be the first in his family to attend college and feels tremendous pressure to succeed, "I am the only person who can help my family out of their poverty."

Feefelobari is a Nigerian civil war refugee. Her village was systematically exterminated to wipe out her tribal race from their oil rich lands. Her family went into hiding and then fled to a refugee camp where living conditions were horrific. She had had no formal schooling until age 8 when a relief agency helped her family move to the U.S. She felt very isolated at school, alone and in a strange new place. With perseverance and determination she is thriving, graduating in the top 5% of her class and contributing extensive community service. She will be the first female ever in her family to graduate from school and the first female to attend college. She plans to pursue a degree in chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

Paul lives with a significant learning disability that he has struggled to overcome through hard work and sheer determination. His guidance counselor says she never sees him not working during his free times. He takes care of his three younger siblings and acts as primary caregiver for much of the afternoon when he gets home from school. He attends KIPP Academy from 7am-5pm, sleeps from 7pm-10pm and sets his alarm to wake at 10pm to complete the rest of his homework after his family has gone to bed and the apartment is quiet. He knows that is the only way he is able to concentrate amid the chaos. Mike Feinberg, co-founder of KIPP calls Paul a “rockstar”.