LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) “We don’t have a house, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a home.”

These are not the words of an adult who has fallen on hard times, these are the sharp words of an astute 18-year-old who has faced some very tough times, but is succeeding.

The recent St. Martinville Senior High grad is one of five recipients of the Glenn Armentor “Pay It Forward” full college scholarship.

Here’s her story, in her words.

“We got the call, and he was like, congratulations, you won the scholarship, and I was like in shock, are you sure you called the right person?

My name is Sydney Landry. I was really excited but nervous at the same time.  Like I couldn’t believe it was really happening.

Growing up it was just my mom and my sisters and my little brother.

At a young age, I realized that being educated is key to being successful.

When I was younger my mom got really sick.  She was unable to work and we actually lost our home. And it was like, ok so we understand like we don’t have a house but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a home.

So instead of like acting out in school or like skipping, things like that, I would go and try 10 times harder because I needed to succeed.

Working harder made me do better and it also made my mother proud, so she had less to worry about.

For undergrad I’m going to major in biology and afterwards I want to go to medical school to become an OBGYN.

Once I’m successful in my practice, I want to come back and open a community center for kids who may be struggling or going thru things.

It would offer different help for people in need and not just young kids but like older people as well.

So, this would be a place for people to go and relax and know that they have someone there for them, like how I know the scholarship is there for me.”

Just like other scholarship recipients, Sydney wants to pay it forward by helping her community, focusing on underprivileged youth and adults in need.

Next week we will meet Jakatelyn Willis.