5 students who left Puerto Rico after storm receive scholarships

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Five high school students will attend a gala ahead of the Puerto Rican Parade and Festival in Orlando, where they will receive a $2,000 scholarship for college.

The students have been focusing on school while worrying about their families on the island

Oxzuen Casta Rodriguez, a senior at Colonial High School, came to Orlando after Hurricane Maria in search of a new place to live and learn. He had to say goodbye to some family.

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"Puerto Rico is not in a good shape right now, so I'm usually consistently worrying about them and how they're doing,” he said.

But when his focus is not on his family, his head is in the books. Rodriguez is one of the five deserving high school students receiving a scholarship.

Cox Media Group, the parent company of WFTV, is awarding $2,000 to each student.

Rodriguez said he's excited to put that money to good use.

"I just want to study computer engineering and get my masters probably in the future and set my career up here,” he said.

Once he gets his computer engineering degree, he wants to focus on his writing.

"I got a lot of inspiration to write when the hurricane happened,” he said.

His writing was put to the test to get the scholarship. Those who applied had to submit an essay about how Puerto Ricans will be active members in the state of Florida.

Cox Media Group