I'm very happy for this young woman--she has remarkable drive

Standout BCTC graduate snags prestigious $120,000 scholarship to continue her education

Ebony Nava has been a standout at Bluegrass Community and Technical College, a straight A science major who headed student government, wrote for the school newspaper and won nearly every academic award offered — all while raising her son and her six siblings.

Nava, 26, graduated from BCTC last year and will graduate again Saturday, this time with a certificate in biotechnology and a $120,000 scholarship to continue at a four-year school.

The Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship is given to 90 community college students a year from all over the country. For now, Nava is thinking about attending Wellesley College in Massachusetts with a double major in biochemistry and philosophy

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Nava, who lives in Georgetown with her family, credits many in her community there and at BCTC for her ascent. When she gained custody of her siblings at age 20, she had a second-grade education but quickly earned her GED before entering BCTC.