Roshni used to skip class and doubt her future.

At HCC, she didn’t just catch up — she rose to the top.

“I honestly was not good in high school. I hated it,” Roshni Baig admitted. She struggled to stay motivated and skipped class often. After graduation, she took a two-year break, unsure of what came next.

When she enrolled at HCC, old habits were hard to shake. Balancing school and work left her exhausted and discouraged. “I was doing my assignments, but failing my classes because I just didn't have enough time,” she recalled. Financial holds on her account added to her stress, as her single mother and brothers scrambled to help cover tuition.

Her mother’s burden weighed heavily on Roshni. "My mom is my best friend. We spend a lot of time together. She has student loans too, just like all of my brothers. I know it's stressful for her."

Then came an even more unexpected challenge: Roshni was diagnosed with a chronic autoimmune condition that made daily life uncertain.

“Some days I think, ‘This is what I have planned for the day, and I'm going to achieve it.’ And then I wake up and I'm in pain, and I'm like, ‘Well, I guess that's not happening today.’”

To help her through the pain, she held onto a mantra she created from a quote she’d heard before. "I would just tell myself, ‘If the years are going to pass, they might as well pass while I'm in school. If I'm going to be in pain, I might as well be in pain while I'm moving forward.’"

Fueled by that mindset, she rededicated herself to her education. She applied for scholarships, and when she received one for the business program from the HCC Foundation, it brought more than financial relief. It lifted pressure off her family and gave her the momentum to believe in herself.

“I was so excited. I was like, okay, everything is picking up now. It was kind of like my ladder to everything I wanted to do. It made me really think about where I'm going in life and what I want to achieve in my future.”

That spark ignited what Roshni calls her "school high" — a growing sense of purpose that pushed her to get involved and stay motivated. She joined Phi Theta Kappa, became an officer in the business club, and even delivered a speech to the HCC Foundation board the day before undergoing surgery.

As the first girl born on her father's side in 42 years and a first-generation college student, Roshni is determined to set an example. Now, she’s setting her sights on the University of Maryland’s prestigious Robert H. Smith School of Business, with ambitions of working for a Big Four firm like Deloitte.

"I want to show them that I'm capable of a lot," she said, thinking of her family who will watch her blaze a new path. Her brothers paved the way in computer science, and now she’s ready to prove that business students can break barriers too. But it’s her mom who remains at the center of it all.

"She knew I was never involved in school growing up. She has seen this change happen in front of her. She's always telling me how proud she is because I finally have goals. And I’m going for them now."

Roshni started her journey with apathy and uncertainty. Where school once felt like a place to escape from, at HCC she discovered a place to learn, persevere, and lead the way. And she’s riding that “school high” all the way to her goals.

Education changes lives.

Be the reason someone steps into their future.