Cindy Aguirre, a junior international political economy major, was awarded the $500 normandiealise National Scholarship Month TikTok Scholarship as the only one of 10 finalists in the nation to win.

Organized by Bold.org and awarded by Normandie Alise Cormier, a scholarship strategist who founded the educational enterprise XollegePass, the scholarship aims to raise awareness and alleviate the financial burden on high school and college students in the U.S. Aguirre said that applicants were required to follow Cormier on Instagram and TikTok along with filling out the application.

“The funder does have an Instagram and TikTok [account] that has to do with helping college students and high school students obtain scholarships and financial aid,” Aguirre said. “I really do recommend the site. It has really good options and [a variety] of scholarships that you can apply to.”

Aguirre was introduced to the website by a high school teacher and obtained two scholarships thus far, including a Healthy Living scholarship, which was funded by a company called wiseGEEK and the TikTok scholarship funded by Alise.

“Like most college students, you do want to alleviate your financial burdens and your financial stress,” Aguirre said. “This can greatly help you, not only mentally, but physically. I did do it for those reasons. And since I will be pursuing a further education after my baccalaureate, I did apply for this.”

Aguirre said she plans to spend the money on her tuition and apply to more scholarships to fund her education. She also mentioned her gratitude toward Alise and the website.

“It’s very gratifying and you feel grateful for the donor that gives you a scholarship,” Aguierre said. “It’s a pleasant experience to say the least.”