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Stacy Torres
UT Austin
Stacy Torres
Manor, TX
Senior, Government Major, at UT Austin
Financial Sources
Job: Mulitcultural Information Center
Financial Aid & Scholarships: President’s Achievement Scholarship, Gates Scholarship, Stafford Loan, University Tuition Grant, Pell Grant, Private loan
Stacy's Story
After graduating first in her class at Manor High School in 2003, Stacy Torres was determined to fulfill her dream of attending a top-notch university despite the absence of a key factor toward that goal — money.
Stacy’s parents had been separated for two years before she completed high school and family finances were extremely tight at home, where she lived with her mother and a younger sister.
“I was worried that in order for me to go to college my parents would have to work so much that I would be a burden, or that I would have to take on multiple jobs and work so much that it would affect the quality of my college experience,” Torres said.
After deciding to attend The University of Texas at Austin, she worked with counselors to develop a financial aid package. She received a Pell Grant and a Texas Grant and won a Gates Scholarship, which allowed her to proceed with her education without worrying about saddling her family or her future with debt.
“With these expenses covered, it allowed me time to experience campus life and to get involved,” Stacy said. The part-time job she got as a freshman at the university’s Multicultural Information Center provided some money to cover incidental expenses, and it also exposed her to dynamic people and programs.
Stacy’s advice to students facing financial obstacles in their pursuit of a college education is that “while it may be difficult and may be a struggle, getting it done makes us who we are and it builds our character.”
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