03/09/2020 06:10:01 PM“Like many of you, my journey has not been easy,” Aleena Jacob said, delivering the keynote speech at a recent luncheon honoring fellow recipients of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo scholarship. Jacob, a health major at the University of Houston College of Education, described how she moved to the U.S. from Dubai after her family suffered bankruptcy during the financial crisis of 2008. Her family started over in Houston, building a new life for themselves — but with that came new obstacles. While Jacob was in high school, her parents battled life-threatening health conditions, and she found it difficult to juggle the responsibilities of school and family while trying to find her own place in the world. “I remember the days where I had to witness [my mother] unable to speak, eat or simply breathe,” she said in her speech. “Even now, my dad is suffering from a cardiac block. Having family in the hospital multiple times is one of the hardest things to experience.” Then came the unforgettable email: she won a $20,000 scholarship!