A PSJA High School senior was surrounded by friends, family and classmates on Friday morning as she was surprised with a $52,000 scholarship.

The scholarship will be used toward tuition at any college or university in the state that Kazzandra Romero chooses to go to.

Romero was one of seven students across the Rio Grande Valley who were awarded the scholarship by Texas National Bank. Over a thousand seniors in the Valley applied for the scholarship. 

Romero said she attributes the win to how hard she's worked during her time at PSJA High School. 

“I've been trying to keep up my rank in the top 10 in the class,” Romero said. 

Along with keeping her grades up, Romero stays busy as student council president, participating in the National Honor Society, interning with the district, taking college classes, and reporting for the school’s student run newscast. 

Romero was also named a Channel 5 News' Student of the Week in September 2023.

“It's truly such a blessing, and I’m glad for not just me, but other fellow students across the Valley,” Romero said. “We come from an impoverished area and that can be difficult, but we're here, and we're dreaming big.”

Romero’s parents say they are proud she was driven to never giving up.

“She's very dedicated, and she'll come to us with her frustrations, and sometimes we don't give her the answers she wants, but we keep pushing her,” Romero’s father — Aaron Ramirez — said. “We do that because we know her potential, and we need her to believe in herself as much as we believe in her.”

Romero already has a plan for what she'll be pursuing after high school. 

“After high school I plan to attend Texas A&M in College Station and major in communications, and hopefully be on Channel 5 one day, or any other news network,” Romero said.

Watch the video above for the full story.