Loreal, Class of 2013

Before US Empowered, Loreal knew she wanted to go to college, but lacked the support and resources to reach her full potential and make her dreams of higher education a reality. Being accepted into US Empowered changed the course of her life. Of her experience, she says: 

"I know it may seem cliché but I truly believe that US Empowered has solidified my future. I always knew what I wanted to do with my life, but I feel that US Empowered gave me the map. I think my life is a compass and US Empowered is the arrows on it that have guided me in the direction of success."

During US Empowered, Loreal raised her GPA by 34%, graduated in the top 10% of her class, and received a paid summer internship position by networking with US Empowered supporters. She also increased her ACT score by 2.25 points and was accepted into her top-choice college, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Thanks to her great ambition and tremendous diligence, Loreal was awarded a prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship, which will fully fund all of her post-secondary pursuits. She is currently a freshman pursuing a bio-chemistry major at UIUC, and is considering careers in speech pathology or medicine.