When Vicky Mejia was fresh out of high school, she had the dream of going to a four-year university, but did not want to be a financial burden to her parents and three siblings. With that in mind, she chose to attend City Colleges of Chicago.

“Simply put, that was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Thanks to the Star Scholarship, I did not have to pay anything out of pocket. I was able to save money by attending Wright, but I got so much more.”

She says that her experience at Wright was “amazing.” She was able to take the same courses that her friends were taking at four-year universities, but she had a distinct advantage: her professors knew her by name and the classes were small. There was also no shortage of leadership opportunities, and Vicky took full advantage: she was vice president of the Latin American Student Organization, a Student Ambassador for the Admissions Department, and a One Million Degrees scholar.

Vicky’s experience has taught her that anything is possible if you set your mind to it. But she also knows that it always helps to have support – which she received from family, friends, the faculty and staff at Wright, and her classmates.

When she spoke the Star Cording Ceremony in May 2018, Vicky expressed her gratitude for the opportunity she had at CCC, saying, “I want to thank Mayor Emanuel for caring about the students in Chicago, for believing in us, and for removing the financial barriers that exist for so many of us by way of this Star Scholarship.”

Thanks to the Star partnerships, she will start classes in Fall 2018 at Dominican University, where she plans to major in nutrition.