Xavier College Prep student gets full-ride scholarship to Washington University
“When I saw that I got it, I felt like a princess in a fairytale," Citlali Camacho told News Channel 3. "I told my mom because I love fairytale stories and that my fairy godmother granted my wish,” she added.
A wish for a full-ride scholarship to her dream school, Washington University in St. Louis.
Out of over 18,500 applicants, Camacho, a senior at Xavier College Prep was one of a few students in the nation selected to receive the Questbridge National College Match Scholarship.
“It was a big financial relief,” for her family she said.
“I did not want them to get loans," she shared. "I did not want them to have the burden to do all these things because I know that will mean them working double and getting two jobs," she added.
Camacho explained how her parents reacted to the news.
“My dad was in awe like he was speechless. He was taking a video of me and I look back at the video and he had the video it was filming the ground because he was so excited,” she said.
As for her mom, “She prayed to God every night that this would happen for me,” Camacho said.
The Questbridge Scholarship Program connects high-achieving high school seniors from low-income backgrounds with full four-year scholarships to the nation's top colleges.
“A lot of people applying to these really selective schools and me being like you know I can’t afford it and thinking I’m not enough but my counselor was always telling me to apply apply apply and I was like no I won’t get in and it was her who pushed me to apply,” she said.
Camacho ended up matching with one of her top choices, Washington University which has a 15 percent acceptance rate.
“This proves even more that I’ve always been enough and I’ve come to accept I’m extraordinary and I’m unique in my own personality and start believing in myself more,” she said.
Citlali explained that her name means star in Aztec.
She’s already proving to be a bright young star with an even brighter future ahead of her.
Camacho told News Channel 3 she’s still undecided what she would like to major in but she looks forward to finding out what she likes when she gets to St. Louis.
