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After going through a rough year full of trials, losses and hardships, Downey teen, Armando Ramriez, was awarded the Minuteman Scholarship worth $250,000.
In August of last year, Armando's grandfather, the family's sole provider, passed away. The passing of his grandfather left the family without a home to live in. soon after, Armando's mother and younger brother moved to Texas, leaving Armando and his older brother here in California.
"We need to make this work, we need to find a place to go," Armando tells The Downey Patriot, stating that it wasn't an option for him and his brother to go to Texas with his mother.
He had moved every year prior, and Downey is where he put his foot down, "No matter what, I'm going to just be here, I'm going to make it possible for me to stay at school for the whole term."
Both brothers hopped from couch to couch, each staying at different homes between multiple places.
While the army isn't his first choice out of high school, Armando is using any opportunity to set him up in the best position possible for life.
The Minuteman Scholarship is a campaign of the U.S. Army Cadet Command that provides complete tuition and expenses for up to four years at a public or private school to candidates who opt themselves for duty in the reserve component. After Armando graduates, he will then serve as an officer in the United States Army with no college debt.
Armando looks to pursue accounting and finance at Loyola Marymount University with his full-ride scholarship as well as participate in the Reserve Officers' Training Camp (ROTC) at UCLA.