My name is Naomy Rodrigues and I hail from the picturesque Republic of Cabo Verde. I was born and raised in Praia and, like most students, attended a local public, academic institution. When I was 17 years old my parents took a chance and moved all the way across the Atlantic to the USA, in hopes of providing better educational and economic opportunities for us. This transition came with many challenges including assimilating to the culture, learning English, making friends, understanding the educational system, and so much more. But I didn’t let these challenges stop me. Instead, I used them as motivation to persevere. Through hard work and dedication, I graduated top of my class with honors in both high school and college. During that time I also got involved in several honor societies, campus government bodies, clubs, and organizations. One that stands out the most is “Little Crowns”, a non-profit dedicated to providing academic resources to children.  

 

The exposure to the educational resources and opportunities freely available in the States opened my eyes to the deficit in my own country. Thus, it became a life goal of mine to create a scholarship to sponsor students and school-building projects geared towards making education accessible and affordable to all. The dream is to create a fund called the “Rodrigues Scholarship.” This scholarship will aid economically disadvantaged families and communities by offering resources such as tuition assistance, meals, uniforms, and school supplies. The Miss Africa USA platform is a great opportunity to launch this life changing initiative. As the Queen, I plan to use this platform to present this project to the world, obtain resources and support. My Dad is an educator and he instilled in us from a young age that the brain is the strongest weapon. Therefore I am committed to making this a reality, and the crown will give me the scepter to execute the vision and begin this mission of equipping our young leaders for a better tomorrow.