As a junior in high school, Cara is currently enrolled in six International Baccalaureate (IB) courses that will span into next year to qualify her as an IB Diploma Finalist. Given that intense course load, it will likely come as no surprise that this 1,000 Dreams Fund Scholarship recipient has her sights firmly fixed on an Ivy League university — think Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, and Colombia University — where she wants to pursue an undergraduate and graduate degree in business and business management. Here’s what else this ambitious student has planned for her future.

What is your professional dream?

I wish to become a CEO or top tier management director for a successful company. Through my college courses and a work internship, I will be able to narrow down the type of role and company that will best suit me.

How will you use the 1,000 Dreams Scholarship?

Any and all funding will be used towards financially supporting my family and myself in order to pursue my academic dream. If the situation is deemed appropriate, funding may also be directed towards funding for my program trip with the Honors Performance Series in Vienna, Austria under the Honors Performance Orchestra.

How is this scholarship helping you get closer to your dream?

Opportunities for my future in college, my career, and my personal aspirations are on the higher end of financial requirements. So, by using the money earned from this scholarship, I will be able to help fund these opportunities.

What advice do you have for other young women who are wanting to pursue their dreams?

No matter the occupation, educational field, university, or personal circumstances of a woman’s current position in her life, she should know that she is able to accomplish a plethora of achievements — as long as she is able to recognize her own desires and act upon them with confidence.

​Have you had any setbacks? How did you move past them?

As an Asian female in the state of Missouri, it was difficult for me, as a young girl, to adjust to the cultural and social differences when I moved here. I suffered heavily from insecurity and the inability to speak my mind and voice my opinion. Due to my withdrawal, I was bullied throughout my first three years at my new school but I refused to show any sign of weakness to my peers and especially my parents. As I grew as an individual and as a student, I steadily began to gain my ground as a confident and respected student of equal standard to those of my peers. I proved that no matter my race, gender, or characteristics as an individual, I was an equal and deserved the respect that I had gained. Ever since those darker years, my peers have always been able to look up to me as a source of emotional and academic support.

What’s next for you? What is your next goal?

I continue to seek financial assistance and beneficial opportunities that will assist me on my path to personal growth and academic success.