A recent Ohio high school graduate who spent a substantial amount of her childhood as a refugee in Uganda has accumulated scholarships totaling roughly $250,000.

Juliane Lukambo stated in a press release from Columbus City Schools, “I’ve worked really hard all these years with taking college classes, being involved, and getting the scholarships is showing recognition that I did a lot, and the reward is what I get.”

According to CBS affiliate WBNS, Lukambo lived in Uganda for ten years after her family left the Democratic Republic of the Congo before being given a scholarship worth $240,000.

Since we were compelled to evacuate the ongoing war, I spent the majority of my youth in Uganda, she told the newspaper. “Life in the refugee camps was not easy.”

The soon-to-be-distinguished student reported that when the family relocated to the United States, adjusting to life in a foreign nation was difficult.

“You come here [to the U.S.] and you don’t know what to expect,” Lukambo said to school officials when he entered the fifth grade at Valley Forge Elementary School.

She nevertheless felt compelled to take part in as many activities as she could in middle and high school.

The district claims that Lukambo surpassed her competitors in all of her endeavors, including STEM Club, sports, and bowling. She also earned notable internships and excellent grades.

The student balanced attending classes at local universities with managing her homework at Northland High School.

Lukambo was chosen as the valedictorian of her graduating class and will now enroll at the University of Dayton to study computer technology. She inspires others to “get out of your comfort zone” because of all of her hard work and successes.

She admitted to WBNS that it had been a very difficult road to get where she is now, but it is “something I’m really grateful for and proud of.”