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Susana Montes-Delgado will tell you that one of the most important things she's learned in recent years is patience. "Things come when you are prepared to receive them, you have worked hard for them, and they are meant for you," she says.
With few opportunities to pursue a higher education in her native Colombia, Susana immigrated to the United States, settling in Miami, Florida, where she studied journalism on scholarship at Miami-Dade Honors College. Soon after completing her associate of arts degree, she won admission to Stanford as a transfer student.
"In a developing country, the lack of opportunities may thwart your dreams and goals. You may change your reality and break the path if you work hard," she says, "but in this country, your educational merits are significantly rewarded."
With the support of the Harriet and Barbara Ann Theis Scholarship Fund, Susana is studying international relations. Particularly interested in forced migrations due to environmental degradation, she has begun work on a year-long thesis project examining the plight of environmental refugees and the role of international institutions.
Patience isn't the only lesson Susana has taken to heart in recent years. Gratitude resonates in her encouragement to other scholarship students: "As a student who has been granted such a generous scholarship, I think you ought to be encouraged to make a difference" she says. "It is important to recognize that you are never at a specific place exclusively because of your own efforts. Somebody gave you a hand, and so it's good to pass along that kindness and acknowledge those who believed in you."
Additional scholarships raised through The Stanford Challenge will help Stanford to extend need-based aid to international students. Find out more about scholarships and other priorities that are extending the renaissance in undergraduate education.
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