“We were just looking at the screen,” she recalled. “And then I remember getting really emotional at some point because they showed clips of us, and I was able to see my teachers one last time.”
What had been packed away that day was Oviedo’s high school cap and gown. There would be no in-person procession, punctuated with in-person speeches, hugs or high-fives, or in-person parties. There had been no prom, either.
And there would be no symbolic turning of the tassel on Oviedo’s mortarboard from the right side to the left side that Saturday, signifying her graduation from high school.
Oviedo will finally get that opportunity when she walks the Lawn May 19 at the University of Virginia as one of the sturdy students in the Class of 2024.
Humble and High-Achieving
Like many college-bound students, Oviedo, a member of the National Honor Society in her high school years, spent her senior year applying to schools. But as a first-generation college student, she largely had to figure things out on her own. She submitted forms to 13 universities. “I remember our high school actually required everybody to apply to at least nine colleges. And if you were in the top 10%, they made you apply to at least 12.” Because everyone in her high school received reduced-price meals, college application fees were waived.
Then, she got the lifeline she was hoping for: a full academic scholarship to UVA, her first choice.
A high achiever and yet humble to her core, Oviedo explained her ambition this way: “Going into (my senior) school year, my biggest focus was on college and applying to as many scholarships as possible, because I knew, given our circumstances, that my family would not be able to help me financially.”
A Drive To Succeed
Like many first-generation students, Oviedo said she didn’t arrive on Grounds feeling like she belonged there. She said her background had a lot to do with what is commonly described as “imposter syndrome.”