Name: Vanessa Louis
Hometown: Delray Beach, Palm Beach County
High School: Village Academy
University: Florida International University
Major: Business Administration
Scholarships:
Scholarships can be game changers. For Vanessa Louis, they were life-altering. If it wasn’t for the two she was awarded from the Community Foundation in June 2016, her life and future might not be on the bright, inspiring path it is today.
Vanessa, born in Cabaret, Haiti in 1998, immigrated to the United States at the age of 1 with her mom and sister. Since her family entered the country without legal permission, they were placed in deportation proceedings. Luckily, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti became available, which provided a way for Vanessa and her family to obtain legal status. However, she still faced many barriers to achieving her educational goals.
“The downside to TPS is that my sister and I did not qualify for FAFSA or any other government scholarships or loan aid,” she said, pointing out that many scholarships also require permanent residency or citizenship to qualify.
“However, the Community Foundation was one of the few organizations that gave students like me an opportunity to attend college,” said Vanessa, who went on to become the first in her family to graduate from college by earning a bachelor of business administration degree from Florida International University in Miami.
“It finally felt like the heavy burden of my future and my family’s future had been lifted off my shoulders,” she said. “Year after year, my sister and I were afraid that we wouldn’t be able to complete our education in the United States, and wondered if we’d ever have a future. Being the first to graduate from college proved that anything was possible, that our opportunities would be endless, and that we were better than the statistics. It also proved that I had what it took. That is a joy that never goes away.”
Today, the 26-year-old is the assistant vice president and senior risk analyst at a well-known global banking company. She attributes much of her success to being fortunate enough to have received the Adele Wells Meyer Memorial Scholarship and The Gubelmann Family Foundation Scholarship.
“My mother could not afford to send me to college, so my only options were private scholarships or loans with extremely high interest rates,” she said. “The Community Foundation’s support helped me afford college and graduate debt-free!”
Vanessa, who grew up in Delray Beach and graduated from Village Academy, currently resides in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, with her Maltipoo, Berry. And thanks to the Community Foundation, she’s very excited to see what her future holds and where her career takes her.
