Trinaty Hobson laughs while remembering the moment she received the acceptance call for the Nina Scholars program. “I screamed in the middle of Dairy Queen with Lord knows how many people waiting on their ice cream!” She was just 17 years old, living under the poverty line with her siblings and her grandmother, who had assumed custody of the children. Trinaty was taking AP classes and working three jobs “to help out around the house.” Becoming a Nina Scholar “made me feel like I could be something other than just another foster kid statistic in today’s society. It has empowered me to go out and reach for things higher than I ever dreamed.”

It also gave Trinaty a support system like she’s never experienced before and guided her toward a career path she could never have imagined. She will graduate from IUPUI in 2019 with plans to become an occupational therapist. “I am beyond excited!” she says. “I’m the first in my family to finish school. I’ll get to tell my grandmother and siblings I’m going to be a health care professional!” And thanks to her Nina Scholar coordinator, “I was named Most Outstanding First Year Student!”