2026 – 2027 Scholars – Starlight Fund

2026-2027 Scholars

Adriana Vigo

Both of my parents grew up in Peru, where higher education was never presented as an option, hard labor and outdated societal norms defined what was expected of them. As they immigrated to the United States, they worked tirelessly in jobs that demanded everything physically but offered little in return. Watching them come home exhausted yet still encouraging me to focus on my studies taught me that education is not just about personal advancement, it is about transforming what is possible for an entire family. I am the first in my family to complete high school, and every step forward I take, I take for all of us.

As a first-generation Latina student, I have had to navigate systems that were not designed with people like me in mind. College applications, financial aid forms, academic counseling, none of it came with a roadmap handed down from a parent who had been there before. I figured it out through late nights, through asking questions that felt embarrassing, and through refusing to let unfamiliarity become a barrier. Being bilingual has been one of my greatest strengths, allowing me to bridge communication gaps not only for myself but for my community through volunteering. My goal is to become a physician. I want to serve communities where language barriers, financial hardship, and lack of access too often mean that people suffer without adequate care. As a Latina and first-generation student with deep ties to the Hispanic community, I understand firsthand what it feels like to be underrepresented in spaces that hold the power to heal. I intend to change that, one patient at a time.

The greatest challenge standing between me and that future is financial. My parents have given me absolutely everything they have, but college funding is simply beyond their reach. This scholarship would not just ease a burden, it would be a direct investment in a future physician committed to giving back to underserved communities. It would affirm that a daughter of Peruvian immigrants belongs in medicine, that her community’s health and future matter, and that the sacrifices her parents made were not made in vain. I am ready to do the work. I have always been ready. I just need the opportunity to keep going.

Marwa Massoud

My name is Marwa Massoud, and I am a Business Administration student at George Mason University. Education is very important to me because it has given me the opportunity to build a better future for myself. I am hardworking, determined, and passionate about growing my knowledge in business. Receiving the Starlight scholarship has helped me continue my education and reduce some of the financial stress of college. I am very grateful for this support and will continue working hard to achieve my academic and career goals.

Sonia Faizi

Sonia Faizi is an Afghan student at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she majors in Biology on the pre-dental track. After the Taliban restricted girls’ education, she left Afghanistan to pursue her dream of attending college and working in healthcare. She taught herself English while living in a refugee camp before coming to the United States. Despite balancing academics, employment, financial responsibilities, and supporting her family, Sonia remains committed to her education. She hopes to become a dentist, serve her community, and help create a safe and stable future for her family.

Sonia Noori

My name is Sonia Noori, and I am from Afghanistan. I played soccer on the national soccer team, attended high school in Kabul. Before the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, I lost both my parents and my world shattered. In 2021, after the Taliban took control of the government, my siblings and I had no choice but to leave everything behind and start over in the United States. We arrived with nothing but hope and determination. While the loss of my parents has been a deep and lasting pain, their dreams for me continue to guide my journey every day.

Before coming to the U.S., I loved school and worked hard to make my parents proud. Now, in a new country, I am committed to continuing my education and building a meaningful career. I have chosen to pursue a paralegal degree at Prince George’s Community College as the first step toward my long-term goal of becoming an immigration lawyer. After completing my associate’s degree, I plan to attend law school.

My passion for immigration law comes from my own experience. I understand what it feels like to be displaced, to be afraid, and to have to rebuild your life from zero. I want to help others who are facing those same challenges. By becoming an immigration lawyer, I hope to give back to my community, stand up for the rights of those who are vulnerable, and offer guidance to those navigating the complex immigration system.

This scholarship would be a tremendous help in achieving my goals. It would not only support me financially, but also inspire me to keep going, knowing that others believe in my potential. I am determined to become the person my parents always hoped I would be a strong, compassionate woman who helps others and makes a difference.

Thank you for supporting the Starlight Scholarship Fund for Girls. It has enabled me to pursue my education and hopefully fulfil my dream of becoming an immigration lawyer.

Yolanda Mpofu

I have always believed that nursing is more than just a career choice; for me, it is a calling. My desire to enter the medical field is rooted in a deeply personal experience that shaped my character and defined my purpose.

My journey toward nursing began when my mother became seriously ill in my birth land of South Africa. As she was constantly in and out of the hospital, I stepped into the role of her primary caregiver. Being the only daughter, I took on this responsibility fully, and it was during this time that I discovered my own strength. Caring for her taught me the true meaning of patience, the depth of human compassion, and the importance of being a steady presence for someone in their most difficult moments. I learned how to care without limits, a lesson that stays with me to this day.

Although my mother has since passed away, the experience of caring for her remains the foundation of who I am. I continue to carry those same qualities of love and patience into my daily life and my interactions with others. I am now ready to channel that dedication into a professional setting where I can provide that same level of compassionate care to patients in need.

My immediate goal is to earn my Associate Degree in Nursing (AON) and continue my education until I am a Registered Nurse (RN). I am fully aware that the path to becoming a nurse is demanding and requires immense hard work. However, I am more than willing to put in the effort because I am driven by a passion to make a tangible difference. I want to be the nurse who ensures her patients feel truly seen, heard, and supported. I know that pursuing this dream and serving others in this capacity would make my mother incredibly proud.

Currently, the primary obstacle standing between me and my education is financial strain. Despite my dedication, the cost of tuition has forced me to delay my start in the nursing program. I work full time as a nanny and house manager to support myself and family back in South Africa. Receiving this scholarship would alleviate the heavy burden of financial stress, allowing me to dedicate my full time and energy to my studies. Nursing requires absolute focus, and this support would provide me the stability needed to succeed academically and Clinically.

Thank you for your time and for considering my application. I am eager to begin this journey and to eventually contribute to the healthcare field with the same heart and dedication I gave to my mother.

Frogh Waheb

I want to make a difference, not through temporary changes, but through lasting impact, which is why I am attending the University of Virginia. As a psychology student, I hope to help others recognize that invisible wounds such as trauma, depression, and other mental health challenges deserve the same care and attention as physical injuries. Ultimately, I am not only a recipient of this scholarship, but someone who will use this opportunity to advocate for mental health and show that support is a necessity, not something to be overlooked. Receiving this scholarship lifted a tremendous financial burden and has allowed me to focus more fully on my education and future goals.

Oluwatamilore Taiwo

I immigrated to the United States at 10 years old with my mom and my younger brother. Immigrating to a whole new country, with not even both parents and not knowing much takes its toll on you. That care free childhood gets taken away from you and you have worries and responsibilities that most 10 year old children wouldn’t have. In between taking care of my younger brother and making sure my mom eats and rests after the two jobs she had worked that day, I barely had any time for myself. The one thing that I knew I had to take seriously though, was my education. Seeing my mom work so hard to give us the things we have now, was more than enough motivation for me to devote myself to my education and extracurriculars because I want to make her proud. I want to show her that her labor was not in vain and that I will be successful. Throughout my four years in high school, I have been a dedicated student track athlete, even being appointed as my cross country team captain. I have been a member of my school Orchestra, making all-county and being a Viola section leader during my last two years, and earning nothing less than straight A’s each semester.

To be able to be the first in my family to complete college, would be a great achievement and honor. I want to go to college, be a full time student, and major in public health. I want to be a public health major because there are many different careers that involve helping people that you can get with a degree in public health. While I may not have a set career path I want to take, I know that I want to help people. Whether it is advocating for those who need a voice and making health policies, researching diseases, or even hands on medical related jobs, in the future, I want to help people. I have been told by my mom before that “my need to help people must be something wired in me” and I often get told to put myself first. If I can make a major difference in the world by doing something that I already love to do, then I will jump at the chance and try my best to make the world a better place.

Even with all the ambitions I have and goals I want to achieve in the future, being successful in this country is not easy. Especially as an underrepresented minority in the population. Student debt alone after college is enough to pull someone under before even getting to start their career after college. My mom is still a single mother of two trying her best to provide a comforting life for her children. As her daughter who is eternally grateful for every sacrifice she has made, I want to be successful without ending up with a pile of debt. To be able to show her that my hard work in high school has paid off and having to pay little to nothing for college will be the start of me repaying my debt to my mom.

Vivian Chen

My parents came from Fuzhou, a city in the province of Fujian, China. When they immigrated to the United States, it was with only hopes and dreams that they might achieve a life where they never could in their hometown. With the difficulty that came with English being a second language, my parents were not able to find conventional employment. Thus, they had to jump between dead-end jobs, an attempt at making a buffet restaurant, and finally, starting a more traditional Chinese restaurant.

This business, Peking Express, became the center of my life. I have been serving there, in some way shape or form. First, it was my brother – our parents were never home because of their long working hours so it was up to me to supervise. Later, it was my baby sister. On days where my parents couldn’t leave me home I was at the restaurant. We celebrated holidays at the restaurant, because my parents came home too late and it was easier if the kids were already there. It was, essentially, a second home. I was expected to serve, to work in the restaurant once I got old enough – and did.

My identity was wrapped around this service: the restaurant, my siblings, my future to financially support my parents once they could no longer work. I had to go to college, or my parents would suffer in their old age. I had to go to college, in order to become a role model for my siblings. I never really had the opportunity to define myself as myself. It was only towards the latter end of my high school career that I started exploring more of what made me me. I want to write a novel! I want to code a study program! I want to make, create, put things into the world that are fundamentally made from my identity. Drawing, writing, reading – these are my passions that I have cultivated over the course of my life. All three of them were interlinked: my imagination turned what I had read into characters into writing and finally into art. It came as a surprise, then, when I realized also how much I enjoyed programming. It wasn’t an obvious realization, but, in my AP Computer Science A class, I found myself running through the same processes I usually used for art, writing – that burst of creativity and problem solving I used for the placement of paint strokes and literary composition was also found within APCSA FRQs and lab assignments. Going from one to the other felt almost natural. The barrier everyone talked about – that STEM and liberal arts don’t mix – did not exist for me.

I hope to show others this realization. In my future, I want to trailblaze new, exciting software that combines both the liberal arts and the STEM subjects in my future work as a software engineer. The University of Virginia’s focus on interdisciplinary education combined with my intended Computer Science will help me achieve these goals.

However, my estimated cost of attendance for the University of Virginia is around 38,000$ – something that my family, while they are able to pay, would place a significant financial burden on them. It is very likely I will have to get some sort of job during my college years to alleviate this burden. However, through this scholarship, I will be able to reduce the number of hours I will have to work, and be able to put these freed hours into applying for internships, studying for classes, and participating in extracurriculars. My high school afterschool life was severely limited by the amount of hours my parents worked – I do not wish for this to happen again, in college. The Starlight Fund will allow me to experience a more “traditional” college life, give me peace of mind in regards to my financial situation, and get me one step closer to financial independence.

Shabana Bakhshi

Education, Resilience, and My Dream of Becoming a Teacher

My name is Shabana Bakhshi, and I am pursuing my education at Northern Virginia Community College with the goal of becoming an elementary school teacher. Education has always been important to me because I believe teachers can make a meaningful difference in a child’s life.

My journey has included many challenges, but those experiences have made me more determined to continue my education and build a better future for myself and my family. As a student and a mother, I have learned the importance of patience, perseverance, and continuing to work toward my goals even when life becomes difficult.

My passion for teaching comes from my love of working with children. I want to create a classroom where every student feels safe, respected, supported, and encouraged to learn. I hope to become a teacher who not only helps students academically but also builds their confidence and helps them believe in themselves.

Receiving the Starlight Scholarship has been very meaningful to me. It has supported me as I continue my education and work toward becoming a teacher. I am truly grateful for this opportunity and for the encouragement Starlight has given me to continue pursuing my goals.

In the future, I hope to use my education to serve my community, support children and families, and make a positive difference in the lives of my students.

Zeynep Kararti

From Sacrifice to Service

Growing up, I quickly learned that while education has the power to transform lives, access to it is not equal for everyone. Because educational opportunities in my home country were limited, my single mother made the difficult decision to move our family to the United States so my siblings and I could have a better future. Her sacrifices are the reason I am able to pursue higher education today. After graduating from high school, I moved to the U.S. and had to adapt to a completely new culture, environment, and educational system while also helping build a stable life for my family.

One of the biggest challenges I faced was the financial burden of college. Since my family could not fully support my tuition, I took a gap year after high school to work and save money for college expenses, and I also took on financial responsibilities to help support our household while adjusting to life in a new country. Today, as a pre-med chemistry student, I continue to work full-time in order to contribute financially to my family and afford my education. Balancing a rigorous science curriculum with full-time work has been difficult, but it has taught me resilience, discipline, and strong time-management skills. Despite these challenges, I recently completed my second year of pre-med studies and remain committed to my goal of becoming a neurosurgeon.

My passion for medicine comes from both scientific curiosity and a desire to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. I am especially interested in neuroscience and hope to contribute to research on neurological diseases in the future. I want to gain hands-on experience through research programs, laboratory work, and clinical opportunities, but the time I spend working to support myself and my family often limits my ability to pursue these experiences. Receiving this scholarship would reduce some of that financial pressure and allow me to focus more on the academic and professional opportunities that are important for my future career.

In addition to my studies, I am involved in a volunteer leadership and mentorship program where I have mentored eleven students over the past two years. I meet with them weekly to help guide them through school, personal challenges, and the experience of being first-generation young female students. Supporting these students has strengthened my leadership and communication skills while reminding me how important encouragement, representation, and access to education can be.

As a first-generation college student and immigrant, I have learned how to navigate uncertainty and responsibility at a young age. My education represents more than personal success; it reflects my mother’s sacrifices and the opportunities my family hoped for when we came to the United States. This scholarship would help lessen the financial barriers I continue to face and bring me one step closer to becoming a physician who can contribute to both medicine and the community around me.