Tolosa Ramirez wanted to be a veterinarian up until her senior year of high school听in Lakewood, Colorado, when a teacher begged her to enroll in a computer science class so it wouldn鈥檛 be canceled.
She has听been hooked ever since.
鈥淚 was really into the problem-solving part of it,鈥� said the senior computer science major. 鈥淚t was exciting to be able to form a solution and see it work immediately in front of you. And coding was just super-fun.鈥澨�
The reputation of the computer science program at CU Boulder made choosing a college easy, and she decided to transfer to CU Engineering after a year at community college.
But deciding on a school was only the first hurdle. Her family had emigrated from Colombia when Tolosa Ramirez was 10. Visa restrictions meant that only her mom could work, making paying for college a challenge.听听
鈥淚t was easily one of the most stressful times of my entire life,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 got in in touch with the BOLD Center, who helped me find opportunities, but it was still stressful.鈥�
Learning that she鈥檇 been awarded the scholarship relieved a lot of pressure for both her and her parents, she said.
Tolosa Ramirez got to meet Srivastava and Waelde virtually last year, and said it was 鈥渞eally comforting鈥� to be able to meet the people who had had such a big impact on her life.
鈥淚t鈥檚 incredible to see people who are successful who want other people to be able to succeed. Especially in STEM, where things can be so competitive,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f it wasn鈥檛 for their scholarship, I probably wouldn鈥檛 have stayed in STEM. (Supporting students)听is something I hope I can do in the future too.鈥�