Mulberry High student gets a big surprise: a $40,000 BigFuture Scholarship

In a surprise presentation Thursday morning, a student at Mulberry High School learned that she has been selected to receive a $40,000 BigFuture Scholarship.

Rosa Mosso, a junior, was called to the front of her class to discuss her plans for life beyond high school when she received the news, Polk County Public Schools said in a news release.

Mosso is one of two students nationwide to receive $40,000 BigFuture scholarships for the month of May, the district said. The College Board awards two $40,000 and hundreds of $500 scholarships each month, the release said.

“I am beyond grateful,” Mosso said in the news release. “I’m just so shocked and surprised, but I mean, hard work does pay off. If you just do your best and do whatever you can do, then anything is possible.”

Students can enter monthly drawings for the scholarships by completing six qualifying steps on the BigFuture website: bigfuture.collegeboard.org. Students whose families earn less than $60,000 a year have more chances to earn scholarships, the website says.

Mosso would be the first in her family to attend college, the news release said. She listed her top prospective schools as the University of South Florida, Southeastern University and Michigan State University.

A tradition of academic ascentFrom Mulberry's migrant community to Stanford and Cornell

The student said she plans to study nursing.

The event came the same week that two Polk County students — Nicholas A. Kieffer of Bartow High School International Baccalaureate, and James A. Lovely from All Saints Academy in Winter Haven — were awarded $2,500 National Merit Scholarships.