Valley student receives $100K Obama 'RiSE Scholarship'

PHOENIX (FOX 10) - College wasn't part of the plan for Westwood High senior Janeth Macias.

"I was thinking, 'how am I going to go to college if my parents don't have money,'" she said.

Janeth also attends the East Valley Institute of Technology and with a 3.4 GPA, she qualified for the "RiSE Program," a federally funded non-profit program for high schoolers with good grades of families with low incomes.

She also recently discovered she is an Obama scholar recipient.

"I was like, 'are you sure, are you sure? Like it's a full ride?'" Macias said.

Meaning a full ride, four-year scholarship of $100,000. She and her parents are thrilled at what they didn't think they could afford -- a free ticket to follow her dreams.

"They were just so proud," Macias said. "Now that everything's paid for, I can better my education and be more successful."

Crossing the stage at graduation this weekend, Janeth plans to take her scholarship over to Arizona State University, where she'll be a Sun Devil class of 2023.