After a tough upbringing in Brazil, Lucas Araujo Ferreira overcame many challenges to attend Broward College. After finishing high school there and coming to America, he was able to obtain his green card. “I never thought I would leave Brazil,” he said. “But, wow, America was just like in the movies.” Although he could barely keep a conversation in English, Ferreira immersed himself in both a new language and campus life at Broward College. He became president of the Honors Student Committee where he learned of more scholarship and transfer opportunities. He also got involved in student government, founded the international student club and joined a handful of organizations that provided him an avenue to assist disadvantaged children. Those volunteer efforts continued in Sri Lanka, where Ferreira, while on a study abroad assignment, volunteered at the Orphanage of Mother Theresa of Calcutta. Upon his return to Broward College, he traveled to conferences with President Haile and gave presentations throughout Florida on behalf of the international student perspective. Recently, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation awarded him a prestigious Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship that will provide him with up to $40,000 annually for a maximum of three years to complete his bachelor’s degree. “My American dream is not much different than my grandmother’s Brazilian dream,” he said. “It’s just that my dream is within reach.”