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| Trauma, Then Triumph: The New York Times College Scholarship Winners | Trauma, Then Triumph: The New York Times College Scholarship Winners |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Just one year ago, while serving chai lattes and gluten-free waffles to customers at one of Manhattan’s trendiest cafes, McKenna Montgomery was living on secret cups of soup. | Just one year ago, while serving chai lattes and gluten-free waffles to customers at one of Manhattan’s trendiest cafes, McKenna Montgomery was living on secret cups of soup. |
| Ms. Montgomery used her cafe wages to keep herself and her father afloat. Living in poverty and surrounded by drug use, she battled hunger and depression. | Ms. Montgomery used her cafe wages to keep herself and her father afloat. Living in poverty and surrounded by drug use, she battled hunger and depression. |
| “I’d have to go days without eating because I couldn’t afford to buy food,” she said. “So I would get to work, and the first thing I would do is put some soup in a little cup, so it’d look like it was coffee.” | “I’d have to go days without eating because I couldn’t afford to buy food,” she said. “So I would get to work, and the first thing I would do is put some soup in a little cup, so it’d look like it was coffee.” |
| Ms. Montgomery, now 18, has set her sights on a bright future. She is one of 10 students chosen this year by the New York Times College Scholarship Program, which means she will get $15,000 in financial assistance for every year of college, as well as mentoring and internship opportunities with The New York Times Company. | Ms. Montgomery, now 18, has set her sights on a bright future. She is one of 10 students chosen this year by the New York Times College Scholarship Program, which means she will get $15,000 in financial assistance for every year of college, as well as mentoring and internship opportunities with The New York Times Company. |
| The program, which began in 1999 and is financeed by reader donations, has helped put hundreds of students through school, including many at top-tier institutions such as Harvard University, New York University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. | |
| On a recent trip to the New York Times building, Ms. Montgomery gathered with the nine other scholarship winners in a conference room with a bird’s-eye view of Midtown Manhattan, where they posed for photographs, listened to advice about university life and shared their stories. | On a recent trip to the New York Times building, Ms. Montgomery gathered with the nine other scholarship winners in a conference room with a bird’s-eye view of Midtown Manhattan, where they posed for photographs, listened to advice about university life and shared their stories. |
| Many said they had never known stability, describing childhoods bouncing between foster homes and homeless shelters. Some told how their families had struggled with mental illness, drug abuse or incarceration. | Many said they had never known stability, describing childhoods bouncing between foster homes and homeless shelters. Some told how their families had struggled with mental illness, drug abuse or incarceration. |
| But all of the students boasted noteworthy academic achievements, often in addition to work, internships and participation in after-school clubs. | But all of the students boasted noteworthy academic achievements, often in addition to work, internships and participation in after-school clubs. |
| Faa Diallo, 17, is engaged in a good-natured battle with his best friend to see who will be crowned class valedictorian this year — a tall order for any student, let alone one whose life was upended by violence. | Faa Diallo, 17, is engaged in a good-natured battle with his best friend to see who will be crowned class valedictorian this year — a tall order for any student, let alone one whose life was upended by violence. |
| Mr. Diallo, his mother and four siblings fled to a domestic violence shelter when he was 13. After that, he said, “I started acting like I was the father figure,” and got his first job in ninth grade. | Mr. Diallo, his mother and four siblings fled to a domestic violence shelter when he was 13. After that, he said, “I started acting like I was the father figure,” and got his first job in ninth grade. |
| Whenever Mr. Diallo needed an escape, he turned to Greek mythology. His favorite character was Perseus, a demigod who was cast out to sea with his mother and dedicated himself to protecting her. “These fictional characters began to be my role models because they could do things that I couldn’t do in the real world,” he said. | Whenever Mr. Diallo needed an escape, he turned to Greek mythology. His favorite character was Perseus, a demigod who was cast out to sea with his mother and dedicated himself to protecting her. “These fictional characters began to be my role models because they could do things that I couldn’t do in the real world,” he said. |
| Another one of this year’s winners, Chaim Fishman, 19, has already been accepted to the University of Pennsylvania. To him, the opportunity is precious. Growing up in a very conservative Hasidic community, Mr. Fishman read only religious texts and spoke nothing but Yiddish. He summoned up the courage to leave his yeshiva at age 15, defying the expectations of nearly all of his friends and family. | Another one of this year’s winners, Chaim Fishman, 19, has already been accepted to the University of Pennsylvania. To him, the opportunity is precious. Growing up in a very conservative Hasidic community, Mr. Fishman read only religious texts and spoke nothing but Yiddish. He summoned up the courage to leave his yeshiva at age 15, defying the expectations of nearly all of his friends and family. |
| Now he is excelling at a public school, fascinated by science — especially the big-picture questions, like how the mind works and the origins of the universe. | Now he is excelling at a public school, fascinated by science — especially the big-picture questions, like how the mind works and the origins of the universe. |
| “All those years when I wanted to learn, I wasn’t able to,” he said. “So the anticipation built up.” | “All those years when I wanted to learn, I wasn’t able to,” he said. “So the anticipation built up.” |
| Driven as they are to succeed, many of this year’s winners also cited the importance of giving back – to family members, to friends and even to total strangers. | Driven as they are to succeed, many of this year’s winners also cited the importance of giving back – to family members, to friends and even to total strangers. |
| “I know I want to do something that will help people,” said Shafqat Shadaab, 17. He moved to the United States from Bangladesh at the age of 9 with his mother, who had glaucoma. When he was 14, his uncle, a father figure, died of leukemia. So Mr. Shadaab devoted himself to his mother, taking on a caretaker role while earning sky-high marks in school. | “I know I want to do something that will help people,” said Shafqat Shadaab, 17. He moved to the United States from Bangladesh at the age of 9 with his mother, who had glaucoma. When he was 14, his uncle, a father figure, died of leukemia. So Mr. Shadaab devoted himself to his mother, taking on a caretaker role while earning sky-high marks in school. |
| Bariki Innis, 18, said his life was turned upside down twice: first when he moved to the United States from Jamaica at 14 and lost touch with his father, and then again at 15, when his mother was struck by a car, leaving her disabled. Having watched his mother struggle with mobility, the star student now dreams of becoming an innovator in the field of driverless cars. | Bariki Innis, 18, said his life was turned upside down twice: first when he moved to the United States from Jamaica at 14 and lost touch with his father, and then again at 15, when his mother was struck by a car, leaving her disabled. Having watched his mother struggle with mobility, the star student now dreams of becoming an innovator in the field of driverless cars. |
| In her scholarship application, Laura Chen, 18, wrote of a harrowing experience witnessing the onset of mental illness in a loved one. That challenge became a lesson in compassion, she said, leading her to start a club to raise awareness of child trafficking. “Once you undergo some type of struggle, you start you empathize with other people,” she said. “It’s just an urge to help people.” | In her scholarship application, Laura Chen, 18, wrote of a harrowing experience witnessing the onset of mental illness in a loved one. That challenge became a lesson in compassion, she said, leading her to start a club to raise awareness of child trafficking. “Once you undergo some type of struggle, you start you empathize with other people,” she said. “It’s just an urge to help people.” |
| Some of the scholarship winners were hesitant to talk about their struggles, explaining how shame over their families’ circumstances had blossomed into a sort of protective pride. | Some of the scholarship winners were hesitant to talk about their struggles, explaining how shame over their families’ circumstances had blossomed into a sort of protective pride. |
| John Park, 17, said that the older he got, the more admired his mother and father for teaching him the values of hard work and sacrifice. Vanessa Rodriguez, 17, spent her childhood bouncing between shelters, where she watched her mother fend off sleep to stand guard over her family’s few possessions; none of it stopped her from studying or holding down jobs. Rieanna Duncan, 17, shrank into herself when she talked about the wrenching loss of her father when she was in fourth grade, but was expansive about her hobbies, which include poetry, wrestling and rock music. | John Park, 17, said that the older he got, the more admired his mother and father for teaching him the values of hard work and sacrifice. Vanessa Rodriguez, 17, spent her childhood bouncing between shelters, where she watched her mother fend off sleep to stand guard over her family’s few possessions; none of it stopped her from studying or holding down jobs. Rieanna Duncan, 17, shrank into herself when she talked about the wrenching loss of her father when she was in fourth grade, but was expansive about her hobbies, which include poetry, wrestling and rock music. |
| The winners said that they know the scholarship does not mean the end of their struggles. Many still do not have secure housing. Some are estranged from their families. All of them wonder how they will fit in at college, surrounded by peers from more privileged backgrounds. | |
| Leslieann Gomez, 17, said she would not let college distract her from her mother and sister. She is fiercely protective of her family, which has struggled to stay afloat for as long as she can remember. | |
| But Ms. Gomez’s face lights up when she describes her own interests: robotics, Korean pop music and self-taught break dancing. The joy of mastering certain moves – the tut, the pop-and-lock – helped her survive a childhood tainted by abuse, hunger and poverty. | But Ms. Gomez’s face lights up when she describes her own interests: robotics, Korean pop music and self-taught break dancing. The joy of mastering certain moves – the tut, the pop-and-lock – helped her survive a childhood tainted by abuse, hunger and poverty. |
| “They seem like impossible moves, but if you keep practicing, it’s really cool,” she said. “People will be amazed by you.” | “They seem like impossible moves, but if you keep practicing, it’s really cool,” she said. “People will be amazed by you.” |