Hi! My name is Darinka and I’m fundraising for Vania. I met her during her application process last year. Here is a message she wrote for you all: Hey Everyone! I’m Vania, an 18-year-old Peruvian incoming freshman at Cornell University, US. I was born and raised in San Juan de Miraflores, Lima, Peru—a marginalized district where dreams are not supposed to come true. At 10 years old, Cancer inevitably took my grandfather. Grandpa left me with answers to future questions regarding being Quechua migrants from the Andes. Which, soon became the prettiest medal of courage and hard work. At 14 years old, in March 2024, the pandemic interrupted classes and crashed my college plans. During quarantine, I dedicated my free time to self-taught English through Youtube and learned about activism, and start getting involved in leadership communities. I started to pave my leadership path while understanding what community, volunteering, advocating, SDGs and compassion were. All of 2024 I attended, submitted assignments, took tests, and studied on the only tech gadget available: my old cell phone. A year later in 2024, a loan allowed me to get my first laptop, which has since made my life easier. I didn't want to lose the momentum so I also decided to take the risky step and apply to U.S. colleges. Throughout the process, I was told so many times that I wouldn't make it because things like this are not supposed to happen to people like me. Many people, even within my family, became hurtful at some point, but I didn’t lose faith. I spent the whole second half of 2024 working on my application, I had no time for anything else. I knew it would be worth all the effort, for the people who at some point in my life believed in me, I took my fears with me and decided to take ownership of my own future and believe. Getting into Cornell was an accomplishment for my entire community, who had thought we were too young to do something meaningful. Now, I welcome hardships as an opportunity to transform challenges. I can say, I got accepted at Cornell University as the FIRST Peruvian undergrad at Brooks School of Public Policy. My biggest aspiration is to become a policymaker. I want to give back to you by solving social issues and creating effective policies to empower marginalized communities providing an equal starting point for everyone and helping more young leaders achieve their dreams. Although, I was awarded financial aid that covers my tuition, health costs, food, transportation, student activities fees, and books and supplies. It does not fully cover my on-campus housing, which amounts to $1,375 for my 4-year college education. Please, consider supporting me, any help is kindly appreciated ♡ because it will serve to make a dream come true! If you need more information about my fundraising, please feel free to reach out. I can provide you with my financial aid award letter and explain my situation in more detail. Thanks in advance for everyone's support! Greetings from Peru. ♡
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