NORFOLK, Va. — Applying for college can be overwhelming and paying for it can be even harder.
One local woman understands the struggle and is dedicating her time to helping students find scholarships hiding in plain sight.
“We want to make sure that every student that wants an education, gets that education and that they don’t have to pay $1,000 more than they have to be able to do it," said Lorraine SantaLucia.
SantaLucia earned more than $40,000 in scholarship money from 21 foundations, and graduated from VCU debt-free.
She says others can, too. That’s why she started the non-profit “Scholarship Sharing," a free service that connects college-bound students with scholarships they may never have found on their own.
“If a student wants to go to school, we’ll help them to do it," SantaLucia said. “Scholarships are not just for the people with 4.0 GPAs or the students who are trying to go to school for a specific degree program."
Debt-free and now paying it forward, SantaLucia said it’s her passion to help students get an affordable education while saving money for the future.
“They’re able to buy houses for the first time, buy cars, start families, because they are not overwhelmed with student loan debt," she said.
For more information, visit www.scholarshipsharing.org