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Life isn't easy. It can be filled with death, disease, adversity, and war. And sometimes, these things can hit a little too close to home, like they did for these four College students. Read on to discover how they're turning tragedy into triumph.

"I can't let things in my past stop me."
Life hasn't been easy for Ashley Tang, although you wouldn't know it by talking to her.

Ashley was just seven years old when her mother died of breast cancer, and a 15-year-old high school freshman when her father lost his battle with lung cancer. Since then, Ashley, now 18, has been living alone in her parents' Glendale, AZ-home. Her 27-year-old brother and 23-year-old sister moved out, leaving Ashley with the companionship of her uncle next door and aunt a mile away. "I have a great support system," she says.

Despite the sadness in her life, Ashley has persevered, earning her the top spot of her senior class as valedictorian, and acceptance to the University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ) to study pre-med this fall.

And it seems the 18-year-old class treasurer, Fellowship of Christian Athletes member, and volleyball and basketball player can also handle the temptations of living alone, like partying, staying out late, and skipping school. She credits her faith, self-discipline, and life goals with keeping her on track.

"I want to do well in school," she says. "Partying all the time is just not me. There are times when I have to choose between my friends and homework, but I do have fun."

Ashley's amazing ambition was recognized by her high school this past May when she was awarded the Apollo High School Achievement Above All (Student of the Year) Award. But Ashley's achievements didn't just catch the eye of her high school -- they also caught the attention of producers at "Good Morning America," who set Ashley up with a makeover and a surprise visit from her favorite actress: JENNIFER ANISTON.

"You're such an inspiration, my dear," Jennifer told Ashley, after handing her a beaded guardian angel bracelet with a charm and diamond. "The world needs to see more people like you."

"I knew I wanted to make lives better."
Finals week during the fall of 2003 was particularly stressful for Dan Jordy. The cross-country runner was just like any other student at Binghamton University (BU, Binghamton, NY), studying for exams and training to stay in shape during the off-season. Suddenly, everything changed.

"One day I noticed a lump, and I knew from background information that it could be bad," he says.

Dan went to the doctor that following Monday, had an ultrasound on Wednesday -- Christmas Eve -- and was diagnosed with testicular cancer. The following Monday, he had surgery to remove the malignant lump.

Dan's cancer is in remission now, and he's spoken about his experience at Relay For Life, a fundraiser for cancer research, as well as organized a walk with his cross-country teammates to raise money for lung cancer research. And although rounds of chemotherapy forced the 21-year-old to take a semester off, he graduated in August with a degree in mechanical engineering.

Prior to his diagnosis, Dan once considered becoming a doctor. He now hopes to pursue the research end of medicine. Dan spent a semester interning with a BU professor conducting cancer research, and this fall, he'll begin graduate work in mechanical engineering at BU.

"I didn't know how I would like working with people who were hurting all day," Dan says of his decision. "But I knew I wanted to make lives better."

"You have to keep trying different ways of getting [through] to people."
When Emily Lester was 14, her eighth grade English teacher approached her about participating in "Project Citizen," a program held every year at her school. He proposed creating a bill that would help foster children meet college expenses not covered by Financial aid and scholarships.

"The project was supposed to last for one year, so I said, 'OK, I'll work on it.' It'll be like all our other projects and never go anywhere," says Emily, who was once a foster child herself.

Instead, she wound up learning that patience really is a virtue. For four years, Emily and her teacher lobbied for the Vermont Trust Fund for Foster Children. Her hard work finally came to fruition when the bill was enacted into law in February 2004.

"It was a little sad," Emily admits of the emotional effect of her victory. "It was over in one day -- you work for four years and it only takes one day to put it into law."

As a result of her efforts, Emily received the 2002 Vermont NEA Civil and Human Rights Award and the NEA SuAnne Big Crow Memorial Award.

But Emily's hard work earned her more than recognition. One day she got a call from her Guidance Counselor saying that Green Mountain College (Poultney, VT) wanted to nominate her for its "Make a Difference Scholarship." The scholarship, new for the 2005-2006 school year, awards full rides to 10 prospective Green Mountain college students who have made a significant and positive difference in the lives of others. Emily began at Green Mountain in the autumn of 2005.

But don't think all this attention has gone to Emily's head. "I didn't do the work to get into the newspaper," she says. "I did this because I wanted to."

"I want to contribute as much as I can."
Tinatin Tsereteli's two passions -- international relations and fashion design -- seem completely incompatible; much like the relationship between two ethnicities in her home of the Republic of Georgia.

"People think international relations and fashion are different," she says. "But I don't think they're separate. These two are really linked to each other. In the face of beauty, anger is powerless."

Tinatin knows this firsthand. She was just seven years old when her family was forced to flee their hometown of Sukhumi due to a war undertaken by neighboring Abkhazia. The fighting left about 20,000 civilians dead and more than 200,000 refugees, including Tinatin and her family. Though the war is over, Tinatin says Georgians and Abkhazians can still view one another as enemies.

As a student at Tbilisi State University in the Republic of Georgia, she attended a Georgian-Abkhazian peace camp. The goal was to create friendships between Georgian and Abkhazian teens. Tinatin admits it wasn't an easy task, so she took steps to create peace herself.

"I organized a fashion show, and I asked Abkhazian girls as well as Georgians to participate," says the 20-year-old, whose own cellophane designs were showcased in the event. "They were surprised and glad I asked them, and were happy to wear my dresses. That night was unforgettable for all of us."

But Tinatin's peace-building efforts don't end there. She was elected as a fellow for the Eurasian Undergraduate Exchange program, which is organized by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State and the International Research and Exchange Board. Through the program, she spent a year studying at Fordham University's Marymount College (Tarrytown, NY) and interned at the United Nations.

Tinatin returned to Georgia this past May, where she will continue her studies in international relations and add fashion design as a second major. She plans to study abroad in Italy and Japan, and would like to earn her graduate degree at a school in the U.S. All the while, Tinatin will continue to devote herself to fashion design and creating peace in the hopes of making her wish of a peaceful, joyful, and colorful world come true.

"I know it's hard to find this way, but we have to try our best and I'm sure step by step we will find it," she says. "This is what affects my creations, and I think my creations will contribute to the realization of my wish -- they already did at the peace camps."


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Jennifer Merritt is a frequent contributor to The CollegeBound Network. Learn more about finding a school that's right for you.

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