Kawalesky graduates from American Senior High School in May 2020, and she’s already looking forward to starting college — and her exciting path to becoming a trauma surgeon or neurosurgeon. She wants to start working and saving money as soon as she can, so she can move from Florida to an out-of-state school for her last two years of undergraduate college — and her eye is already on places like Stanford University, UCLA, and Johns Hopkins University.

What is something you are most proud of?

I am proud that I was one of 16 out of hundreds of students who were chosen to get a full-paid scholarship for college.

Have you gone through any tough or challenging times? If yes, how did you deal with those challenges?

Yes, I had to learn English in less than a year — and I did!

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

It means that you are looking at something productive and good in me — something that can be developed with an opportunity like this.

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

I was inspired by knowing that I would have opportunities to take tours for colleges.

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?

It is important because experiencing schools in person is such an important key to choose my future educational path.