Congratulations Aurora Victoria Herrera David!

Aurora is a member of Babae's young women's group, Diwata and a mass member of Active Leadership to Advance the Youth (ALAY). Congratulations AV!

The corresponding video interview can be found here: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=121594

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Pinay whiz gets to pick between Harvard, Stanford
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=121634


The Filipino community in Daly City is proud of the achievement of 17-year-old AV Herrera who recently graduated from secondary school with top honors.

Herrera, who immigrated to US in 2005, finished as valedictorian of the Westmoor High School.

Her 4.3 grade point average became her ticket to be accepted as a freshman in Harvard and Standford universities.

But while she's contemplating on what school to choose and if it seems that her entry is a dream come true, Herrera said that life in the US isn't that easy.

"Akala ko pagpunta ko dito, maganda ang America, ganyan. Pero pagdating ko, nakita ko ring mahirap ang buhay," Herrera said, as she narrated how she fought her way to the top.

Before immigrating to the US, Herrera was a scholar at the Philippine Science High School in Quezon City.

Her mother, Bernadette, worked hard to be able to take her three children to the US and invest in their education.

Mrs. Herrera went to the US in 2000. She initially worked illegally for three years before she was given her legal papers.

"Kung hindi kami nagtatrabaho, hindi kami makakakain sa maghapon. wala kaming sasakyan. Wala kaming bahay. Nagre-rent lang kami ng isang kuwarto, pero tatlo ang anak ko. Pero nabubuhay kami ng maayos," Mrs. Herrera said.

The Herrera family said that life in the US is hard but they found support from new friends in the Filipino community.

Now, Herrera, who dreams of becoming a human rights lawyer someday, is also working as a coordinator of the Filipino Community Center.

Her mother, meanwhile, has this message to Filipinos who are also dreaming of making it big someday.

"Kung ano man ang darating na panahon, kung ano ang plano niya sa buhay, huwag niyang kalimutan ang kanyang pinanggalingan," she said. With reports from Henni Espinosa and Ging Reyes, ABS-CBN North America Bureau