BOCA RATON, Fla. — If you hear music, 19-year-old Venezuelan immigrant Olga Borerro is likely behind it.
She came to the United States when she was in eighth grade, speaking no English, with dreams of a better life and education. Borerro, a native Spanish speaker said learning English was tough, but she also said learning her first language, music, was easy.
It started with singing at an early age.
“When I was a child I always loved music,” she said. “Everywhere I sing and no one can stop me, because that’s what my passion was since I was little.”
From there, her talents took off, when I asked she said she knows how to play 11 instruments.
“Violin and piano then when I came to the United States I learned flute, then I learned guitar, ukelele,” she said.
With such a long list of accomplishments Borerro said there is one missing
“I want to be an orchestra conductor,” she said confidently.
Before she gets to the conducting podium, she has a higher education financial hurdle to overcome. That’s where Tim Snow comes in.
“It is a burden on a great number of our scholars, and the fact that we’re able to help them financially alleviate and in some cases help students graduate with no student debt," Snow said. "That’s quite an accomplishment and quite a gift to the young people we’re helping.”
He’s the president of the George Snow Scholarship Fund, the largest provider of scholarships to kids in Palm Beach County.
Over the past 41 years, they’ve awarded more than $22.6 million to honor a special legacy.
“We were formed in 1982, as a result of my dad passing away in a helicopter accident," Snow said. "He started his career as a high school math teacher, but while he was alive, he was always trying to help people who were trying to help themselves.”
A more than grateful Borerro said she heard about the scholarship through her high school band teacher Mr. Miller. Miller, a former George Snow Scholar himself, is one of 2,900. Now Borerro is among that number.
“These young people are rock stars, they just need a little help and we’re able to give them that help," Snow said. "We’ve been able to see over the past couple of years the fruits of that labor and they’re able to break all kinds of cycles by getting a great education.”
More maestro than rockstar but still a dream come true.
“Thank you so much for this opportunity, because of you I can go to college," Borerro said. "That’s a dream and I can be an orchestra director because of you.”
For more info on the George Snow Scholarship Fund, click here.
