Southeast High senior Natalia Malcolm has seen her fair share of hardship, but her smile remains — along with a determination to help others.
And when she starts at Wichita State University this fall, she said that desire to help will be her guide.
“I've always just seen myself making a difference and trying to help people. That’s all I want to do in life,” she said. “I just want to help people. I don’t know how, but we’ll see.”
Malcolm is the first recipient of the new Overcoming Adversity Scholarship from Wichita Southeast High School and the Bhagat Family Foundation.
She was recently surprised with the $50,000 scholarship in front of her classmates.
“I didn't even think I was gonna get that far,” she said. “But then they called my name. I was like, “What?” I was so surprised.”
Malcolm experienced homelessness during her sophomore year. She spent nearly six months living out of rental cars with her mom after an eviction.
“It was like living the same day every single day,” she said. “It was rough and exhausting, but I feel like, at the end of the day, I knew that eventually it would pass. But even, like being realistic, it doesn't feel like it during the time.”
Malcolm said she’s in a much better spot now, but without the scholarship, she doesn’t know if she would be able to attend college.
Southeast High graduate Ronal Bhagat founded the scholarship with students like her in mind.
“Now that I'm in a position to give back to my community, I wanted to do something in education, because education, I think, opens a lot of doors, regardless of your background and your circumstances,” he said.
Bhagat grew up in Wichita and graduated from Southeast in 1992. He attended college in California and later New York, where he now works in real estate finance.
Bhagat said he wanted the scholarship to help people who might not be able to attend college otherwise. The scholarship has no specific academic requirements.
“It wasn't based on a high GPA or high ACT scores — (and it) certainly wasn't an athletic scholarship,” he said. “It was to find somebody that was smart, ambitious and needed the financial assistance.”
Seven other finalists at Southeast will each receive $6,000.
Staff at WSU and Southeast reviewed applicants for the scholarship, so Bhagat was not involved in selecting Malcolm. But after coming to know her and her story, he said she’s clearly a great fit.
“Even though she's had challenges that she's been very open about and very public about, she's not going to let that determine what her future holds for her.”
At Southeast, Natalia has been active in tennis and has a deep appreciation for art — especially pottery.
“My favorite class is ceramics. I love ceramics so much. Pottery — my favorite thing in the world.”
That love for ceramics led her to become a member of the National Arts Honor Society.
Outside of school, Natalia loves spending time with family, including her siblings and her little nieces and nephews.
She said she’s excited about her next chapter at Wichita State and keeping an open mind about where it could take her.
“I feel like my goal is just, I don't know, live life to the fullest, have fun, experience everything — live in the moment.”
