Some of us are lucky enough to have the means to reach our dreams. Many of us, however, do not have the same luxury. Meet Vitoria Mario, a young black 18-year-old living in the UK who is on the very verge of achieving her dream of becoming a student of mathematics in the University of Warwick, paving the way for women in STEM and related fields.
However, financial trouble got in the way of this dream.
“I have received a conditional offer to study Mathematics (MMath) at the prestigious University of Warwick. I have already attained AABB at AS Level and I have recently achieved A*A*A in my A-Levels in Maths, Further Maths and Physics, respectively. However, I am still in a position of uncertainty as I may not be able to attend university due to my circumstances. I have lived in the U.K. for 4 years now, after migrating from Portugal to live with family in Tottenham. The socio-economic barriers of not being eligible for maintenance loans/grants is due not only to not having ‘Home’ status, but also because my family are low income, and unable to help me self-fund through university.
“Sadly, my father has passed away, and my mother remains in Portugal. Moving away from her was a challenge but it was a sacrifice worth being made, in my family’s eyes. ‘If you can get a university education in the UK, you will be set apart for life,'” she wrote.
She slowly garnered more and more donations after her story circulated a bit but the big surprise was when Taylor Swift herself donated the remaining amount (more than half) of what Vitoria needed because she was so inspired by her story.
So sweet! Read her whole story here.
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