American singer Taylor Swift helped a Portuguese student who finished high school in London raise £40,000 (€46,600), a goal she had set herself on the Internet, to continue her studies at university.
Vitória Mário appears on the fundraising page she created as an 18-year-old black girl with a dream: to continue her studies in mathematics at the University of Warwick in central England.
To do so, she asked hundreds of companies for help, as well as distributing requests for help to finance the four-year course, including housing expenses, through local post offices.
The young woman had already achieved almost half of her goal when she was surprised by a donation of £23,373 (over €26,000) from Taylor Swift to reach her target.
“Vitória, I came across your story online and I am so inspired by your willingness and dedication to turn your dreams into reality that I want to present you with the rest of your goal. Good luck with everything you do! With love, Taylor,” wrote on the fundraising page the 30-year-old artist who visited Portugal before becoming a world celebrity.
A friend of Vitória published the story on Twitter, which the singer liked, without commenting.
In a statement to the BBC, Vitória Mário considered Taylor Swift’s gesture great and thanked the American singer with all her heart.
Vitória moved from Portugal to London in 2016, when she did not yet speak English and finished high school with top marks.
“My father died, and my mother stayed in Portugal. Getting away from her was difficult, but it was a sacrifice worth making,” she wrote on the fundraising page.
On the same page, the young Portuguese student points out that women, especially black women, are under-represented in the academic environment in the field she wants to enter, mathematics.
