LFHS Student Carolina Taborda Earns Dreamer Scholarship

Updated: July 21, 2022

Carolina Rangrab Taborda is a Los Fresnos High School senior who is making her dreams come true. Taborda, a native of Brazil, has endured a challenging path to higher education that will be eased with help from the Dream Scholarship which will cover her college costs.

Taborda’s story is one of determination in the midst of grief. She came to the United States to live with family in Bayview for educational advancement. In 2015, she moved back to her native country of Brazil when her father’s health began to fail. While she excelled on the gymnastics circuit in Brazil and in school, his condition worsened, and he passed away in 2019. Her goal to return to the U.S. for school was temporarily halted when the COVID-19 pandemic complicated.

Taborda returned to Los Fresnos High School for the 2021-2022 school year where she was a focused student, played soccer, and started to look toward her future educational goals. She worked with the Los Fresnos High School College Center to apply for scholarships and educators who assisted her with translation for essay writing.

“I was surprised to learn in April that I was given the Dream Scholarship that will cover my college costs, and I am grateful to all the people who helped me,” said Taborda.

The scholarship is awarded to deserving immigrant students to help ease the financial burden of college. It offers $37,500 to recipients to obtain a four-year undergraduate degree from partner schools, including tuition and housing.

Taborda will attend the UTRGV Nursing program in the fall. She says it’s one more step toward her dream of becoming a cardiologist, to honor the late memory of her father.