Merit-based financial assistance provides a path forward for talented student

With the rising cost of college, many students lack the resources to apply and enroll upon graduating high school. Scholarships provide a path to higher education, which, in turn, enables upward mobility.

For junior Ana Fonseca, college was not a foregone conclusion. Despite her interest in pursuing higher education, Fonseca did not know how this would be possible. “I knew my parents wouldn’t be able to support me in terms of covering…tuition,” she says.

Fonseca moved to the U.S. from Colombia mid-high school, enrolling as a junior at Ronald W. Reagan Doral High School. Driven yet overwhelmed by the number of decisions required to turn her college dream into a reality, she forged ahead, researching and meeting repeatedly with her advisor in search of information.

Fonseca enrolled in the Cambridge program, a rigorous academic curriculum that permits high school students to simultaneously earn college credits. Thanks to her hard work, she not only graduated with both her high school diploma and AA, but she also earned the highest tier of the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program — the Florida Academic Scholars award, which covers 100% of tuition.

According to Fonseca, this was “a completely life-changing opportunity.”

Growing up, Fonseca wanted to become a lawyer. Upon matriculating at FIU, however, she experienced an epiphany: “I knew I loved science, and I loved reading and writing. But in Colombia, a career in science is not an option unless you want to become a doctor, which I didn’t want to be.” When FIU opened its doors to Fonseca, she could suddenly envision possibilities that never before existed to her.

“FIU has an insanely incredible biomedical engineering program,” she explains, one that allows her to blend her “passion for medicine with [hands-on] experience.” She adds, “And if I want to pursue a PhD, I’ll [have the tools and skills] to do that.”

With most of her general requirements met and the unexpected gift of financial assistance that has granted her room to explore, Fonseca determined to make the most of her college experience — she has added a tissue engineering concentration to her biomedical engineering major and is minoring in chemistry. Moreover, through her enrollment in the Honors College and the College of Engineering and Computing, Fonseca has taken advantage of every opportunity available to her.

She is honing her writing skills through the Advanced Research and Creativity in Honors program. She is an outreach coordinator for the Society of Women Engineers. And she is the Vice-President for the Undergraduate Research Society.

“The hardest part is always trying to get into the room,” Fonseca explains. Once in, she wasted no time in networking and learning from those who have extended a helping hand. Through friends and mentors, Fonseca learned about various opportunities to expand her research, such as her work in Joshua Hutcheson’s Cardiovascular Matrix Remodeling Lab where she tests the effects of different therapeutics on vascular calcification. This experience led her to become a CURE Program award recipient, as well as a Biomolecular Science Institute of Undergraduate Research Fellow. The latter offers financial support, career development, and graduate school application assistance.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Fonseca is also a recent recipient of the Opportunities for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship award offered by the College of Engineering and Computing. This scholarship provides students who are conducting research within their field with financial support, hands-on research experience, and faculty mentorship.

Crediting her success to perseverance, a supportive community and financial assistance, Fonseca says, “I take a lot of pride and motivation from knowing that I already [received] help to get here.” Through the initial Bright Futures scholarship, she has been able to pursue her dream and make it a reality.

And now Fonseca is determined to pay it forward. “If I can help people, I will. This is why I became very actively involved in everything to do with outreach.”