Name:  Jaleeyah

Age:  16

School:  Alta Vista Charter High School

Dream College(s):  Looking into S&T Missouri, Geneva College, and Arizona State

Future Plans:  I plan to do software development/engineering in the future.

Do you know what you’d like to major in or have a career in? If so, what is it?

I plan to major in computer science.

What is something you are most proud of?

I’m proud to have this great internship I’ve got, doing what I love and aspire to do in the future.

Have you gone through any tough or challenging times and how did you deal with those times?

Whenever I’ve had a really tough challenge, I would used to try and fix it all on my own, as to not inconvenience. But that put a lot on me and I started to feel very low a lot. I know now that that isn’t the way to handle that situation because of the great people in my life. When I’m facing a challenge, I persevere and know it’s okay to ask for help if I need it or I feel overwhelmed.

What does it mean to you to be selected as a Girl on the Rise?

I feel incredibly lucky to be open to such a great opportunity that I know a lot of people don’t have access to at my age. I won’t take it for granted.

What inspired you to want to be involved with Girls on the Rise?

I’ll take every advantage I can get. It’s great to know people believe that young girls like me can do great things, so I plan not to disappoint.

How will funding from the 1,000 Dreams Fund help you reach your goals? In other words: Why is the opportunity to visit your prospective colleges important to your journey?

Honestly, I’m not sure I’d have the chance to even go and visit the colleges I’d like to without Girls on the Rise. This is great because it’ll help me ultimately make the right decision. People always tell me, when they first stepped on the campus where they went to college, they knew it was for them. And I want that too, the right place for me.

What schools will you use the funding to visit, and why?

Well, I’ll use the money to visit the schools previously mentioned because they are the ones I’m most attracted to, and if that changes, I can use the funds to visit a different school.