Harbor High Senior Wins 'Live Like Leo' Scholarship for Study Abroad

Karen Sanchez, a 17-year-old senior at Harbor High School in Santa Cruz, has been awarded the 'Live Like Leo' scholarship by the Santa Cruz County Community Foundation. The $10,000 scholarship supports students who intend to study abroad.

- Sanchez moved from Jalisco, Mexico, at age 8 and learned English through school and tutoring. - She earned a perfect grade in physics, a rare achievement, and is the first in her family to attend college.

- She plans to study biological sciences at UC Davis and become a bilingual occupational therapist. - The scholarship will help her study abroad, possibly in Spain or Mexico, to reconnect with her cultural roots.

Sanchez's teachers and mentors praise her determination, optimism, and dedication to helping others. She also volunteers as a tutor for younger students through Barrios Unidos, the same organization that helped her learn English as a child.