SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD Krisann Bedassie will soon set foot into the prestigious Yale University in Connecticut, one of eight “Ivy League” universities in the United States, thanks to the generosity of her local community.

The St Joseph’s Convent San Fernando student is the first from Trinidad and Tobago to be admitted into Yale’s Young Global Scholars programme, a two-week academic enrichment programme for outstanding high school students from around the world. She has been accepted in the two-week politics, law and economics session which is scheduled for July 6 to the 18.

It was a feat, she described, last week, both life changing and miraculous. But although she had received partial sponsorship that would cover tuition, accommodation, healthcare and meals, the young woman and her mother Susannah Bedassie, have been attempting to raise US$4,000 in funds for expenses and to have her mother accompany her, for added security.