Daniela Billier: Young Dominican who won a scholarship to the US

Passionate about sports and maths, Daniela Billier has struggled at a young age not to be someone else. He was born into a low-income family in Hike and grew up in a neighborhood where opportunities were limited, but he affirms that his goal is to always fight to show that there is something more than that.

Despite coming from a low-income family, Daniela struggled to make her way and get ahead with the support of her relatives, and she succeeded.

The 19-year-old will travel to the United States at the end of August, where she will be part of the athletics team at Smith College, a private university specializing in the liberal arts, which is highly prized for women. Located in Northampton Massachusetts, you will study statistics and data science with a focus on global financial institutions.

“My family always told me that to achieve big things, you have to think big.”Daniela BillierDominican athlete“

“Here in the Dominican Republic you’re a high-performance athlete or you’re focused on working out, especially at Smith College, which was really interesting to me because I contacted the coaches before I applied, and they offered to be part of the track team, somehow inspire my college application essay. ,” he said.

Daniela said she reached out to track and field coaches from Harvard University and MIT to try to open doors for her to achieve her dreams. In total, he applied to 10 universities in the United States.

His way is “on the track”.

Daniela got into athletics at a very young age. When her coach, Jesus Tapia, discovered that she was playing soccer on the men’s team, he was shocked by the fact that she was the only woman on the team, and he invited her to join his team of athletes.

“I loved sports so much that if other girls weren’t interested, that wasn’t going to stop me from doing it. So my coach, Jesus Tapia, invited me to participate in the athletics team he organized. I was the youngest and two months later I qualified for my first national athletics competition,” she said. emphasized.

Since her childhood, Daniela has been able to participate in national athletics competitions, school cycle and high championships, 100 and 200 meter runs, she has been part of individual event girls and mixed champions relay and podiums in national school games. Among the participants.

Last year, after graduating from high school, Daniela was able to move to Santo Domingo to improve her condition, use her ability in athletics and be at the level of competition in the United States.

Best in class

The young woman completed her secondary education at Liceo Juan XXIII de la Salle, earning a bachelor’s degree in Statistics, Mathematics and Technology.

“I had two expulsions in high school at this semi-private school, and I always liked the hard stuff, and the hardest expulsion was math,” Daniela said.

During his school year, he received national academic and sporting distinctions, graduating with an overall average of 98.2, the highest in his class.

He also contributed to community service as a Lasallian leader, Rotracht Higke, where he led educational workshops for students and adults in his community.

Within his school he was a part of the track team and the flag bearer team. Participated in United Nations Olympiads in mathematics, biology, social sciences and internal debates.

The distinctions he received are related to the prestige, merit, service and awards of his school, Hike’s mayor’s office and the sports department of the Regional Education Directorate 12-01 and the local foundation.

Family pride

Daniela knows that her achievements are rare for people with low incomes like her, but nothing stops her. He assures that his family and friends are essential to his progress.

“They always told me that you have to think big to achieve big things, and when they saw that this was a reality, something that didn’t happen in Hike,​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ,” she said excitedly.

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