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Yuridia Bermejo

Yuridia Bermejo was just 16 when she moved to Lexington, Ky. from Mexico, where she had spent most of her childhood. She couldn’t speak a word of English.

Today, at 18, she is a student at Bluegrass Community and Technical College studying accounting. Bermejo’s motto: “you are who you decided to be.”

Bermejo received financial aid and scholarships, including the Alumni Scholarship, to pay for her tuition at BCTC.

The Alumni Scholarship gives her peace of mind to focus on her academics without financial worry, she said. She enjoys attending BCTC because her professors have taken extra time to help her learn. Bermejo hopes to work in a bank after she receives her associate's degree.

Bermejo, 18, was born in Chicago and moved to Mexico when she was a toddler. When she came to Lexington, she joined an older sister, leaving her single mother and brothers in Mexico.

She struggles learning new subjects, but “after you suffer, you learn,” she said. During her first year learning English, she constantly picked up a dictionary to learn new words. In college, she feels she is “breaking her head to think a lot” when she learns new math concepts taught in her accounting classes. But overcoming challenges drives her: “when I don’t understand a problem, I want to know why and … get the answer. I don’t know how many times I have to do it, but all I want to do is solve it.”

She hopes others will also strive to do their best because, she said, “you deserve that thing that you suffered for.”

Jeremy Barker

When he was 10 years old, Jeremy Barker didn't spend his time on playing sports. He spent it earning money mowing lawns.

By age 14, he started his own lawn care and landscaping business. He had to wait till his 18th birthday to get a business license.

Now 20, Barker still runs Kustom Kut Lawns while a full-time sophomore at Bluegrass Community & Technical College and working part time as a computer network administrator.

"I just like to get a job done and look back at it, and see the improvement I made or how much better something looks," said Barker. "I guess that's why I like working."

Barker received an Alumni Scholarship for the 2008-09 school year. The scholarship has helped him pay for textbooks and "helped me not worry as much … that way, it helps me focus on school a little bit more." He chose to attend BCTC because of the smaller classes and affordable tuition. His teachers at BCTC also understand that many full-time students are also working like him, he said.

After he obtains an associate's degree at BCTC, Barker plans to transfer to Eastern Kentucky University and earn a degree in computer electronic networking. Barker said he sees himself becoming an information technology manager. But he said he will likely find time to trim some green. "Maybe on the side, because I enjoy it," Barker said. "It's kind of a stress relief, believe it or not."