ORLANDO, Fla. – For some people, getting a college degree can be a challenge for many reasons, in particular paying for tuition.
In the U.S., it's even more difficult when potential students don't speak English and have a hard time figuring out the financial aid forms, which is why the Hispanic Scholarship Fund was created.
Lizet Dominguez's unique story stood out when she applied for the scholarship. It was thanks to the fund that Dominguez was able to graduate from Barry University School of Law in Orlando.
A few months after Dominguez was born, her parents left Mexico to work in the U.S. during the 1980s.
"Mainly they concentrated on the fields, picking fruits and vegetables ... migrating between the northern states (and) southern states." Dominguez said.
She was reunited with them when she was 6 years old.
"My mom would only take breaks when we would come home from school but even then, sometimes it wasn't possible," Dominguez said.
The oldest of five girls, she remembers what it was like living in migrant camps out in the fields.
"Seeing our parents do that kind of work, we would always help. We'd pick the fruit from the ground. They were tired, they were soiled, filthy," Dominguez said.
Dominguez, now a public defender, recalls that rainy days were a relief.
"That's when they didn't have to go to work. So, I think it brings back memories of having them home when it would rain." Dominguez said.
Her parents didn't graduate high school but they made sure she'd have a better future than theirs.
"My dad would buy books and he would make me sit and re-write them or read it with his broken English. I saw the struggle," she said. "The hard work they put in so that my sisters and I could have an education."
Despite her parents working from dawn until dusk, the money wasn't enough to help her through college. In 2013, Dominguez applied for the Hispanic Heritage Scholarship Fund.
"Her essay was so moving, her story was so inspiring and that was what it was all about. It was exactly what we were looking for from the very beginning." founder Lizette Valarino said.
Valarino said she created the scholarship after she realized there was a need to help children of Hispanic heritage when she went through the financial aid process for her daughter. Although she speaks English, the paperwork was still extremely difficult.
"So I thought, how difficult must it be for those who arrive here, the children, their parents who don't manage the language that well, and so is there anything I could do to help," Valarino said.
"To know that that would help me with some of the bills at the time and not just the monetary aspect of it but I believe it opened the doors for me to meet other individuals. Because of the scholarship, I was able to actually find two internships in two very important law firms here in Orlando." Dominguez said.
Since it's inception, the Hispanic Heritage Scholarship Fund has awarded almost $1.5 million to more than 300 students in Central Florida. Students who apply must already be registered in college.
For more information about the fund visit hhsfmo.org.