Help me learn and rescue my family

“Sorry, we won’t be able to pay all of that, Yousef.” My heart stopped as I heard these words coming out of my parents. I closed my eyes and prayed for courage as I felt my life is getting ready to change drastically.

Let me tell you the story from the begging. Growing up in a family of both teachers did not give me the money fortune, but it has given me the passion for knowledge and learning. Owning not much money has not been an obstacle, and I hope it will not hinder me achieving my dreams. Joining a prestigious school in United States will not only help me get better education and sustain my diligence for learning and research, but also it will support my family not to be lost. In addition to my father’s struggle with epilepsy, my mother’s been suffering from extremely high blood pressure, diabetes and breast cancer. Hence, I should be prepared to fund my two younger siblings anytime, at least this is what the doctors said.

Because of my low-economic level, applying to every scholarship I got has been what I do to afford my education. My educational journey has been supported by the government, schools’ scholarships and other organizations. For example, when I joined STEM High School for Boys, a school that USAID has facilitated and supported financially to enroll the high achievers after the preparatory school from all over the country, I have received a full tuition fees and board scholarship. At this based-project school, I have been educated to be intellectual and researcher. Intellectual people should believe that happiness comes from the enthusiasm towards what they truly love. In my situation, it is science, research and improving people’s lives are what I love.

However, it is not the same this time. I have prepared myself independently to join a school in United States: I managed to maintain a perfect GPA (4.00/4.00) and took the ACT and TOEFL tests to get a chance of getting into a good school in US. I worked hard after the school to fund my exam’s ticket and applications. Fortunately, I have been admitted to 8 universities in US, which include the University of Minnesota that is ranked as 15^th according to QS world ranking at my intended major: Chemical Engineering. Despite receiving fine scholarships from these universities and intending to work to finance my education, it is still a long way to go.