During National School Choice Week, the youngest member of the Independence Institute Education Policy Team, Diana De La Rosa, had an op-ed titled How school choice opens new opportunities to low-income students like me published in the Greeley Tribune. Diana’s piece details her experience in education as a low-income student, and how a scholarship has helped her to be the first member of her family to graduate from high school and to pursue a college degree. The importance of her experience is encapsulated neatly in her closing statement:

“School choice and the financial assistance available has changed my life. It has given me the ability to pursue a private education that once seemed impossible to obtain. I hope that one day all students are able to succeed and pursue the education of their choice regardless of their financial situation. All students deserve equal opportunity to choose the best educational path that suits their needs, just like I was able to do.”

Diana came to the Independence Institute through Arrupe Jesuit High School’s Corporate Work Study Program, which–in addition to her scholarship– helps pay for the majority of her tuition. She accredits much of her success in education to her experiences with choice, and wishes to become a journalist after attending college. This publication is a promising sign of what her aspiring journalism career could hold.