2026 Scholarship America Dream Award Spotlight: Angelika Szymanowska

Scholarship America is proud to celebrate our 2026 class of Dream Award Scholars.

Each of these students has overcome obstacles and begun their college journey thanks to their grit, drive and determination—and the Dream Award provides them essential financial support so they can complete their education with less debt and less stress.

These renewable scholarships stay with students through the remainder of their college careers, ensuring that they can stay on track and finish their degrees. Since its founding in 2014, the Dream Award has helped nearly 200 talented, determined learners, and we’re excited to welcome the 2026 Dream Award cohort.

Today we’re introducing Chicago’s Angelika Szymanowska. A native of Poland, Angelika returned to school after several years in the workforce. Today, she is pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Cybersecurity Technology and Information Technology at Southern Illinois University—and, if that weren’t enough, she is also studying for a second associate’s degree in Software Development at Wilbur Wright College in Chicago.

Here’s our conversation with Angelika; watch our blog to meet more Dream Award Scholars over the coming weeks.

Tell us about your journey from Poland to where you are now.

I had to overcome many limiting beliefs. From a very young age, I was taught that everyone was better than me, that something was wrong with me, and that I would never achieve anything. It took me years to break through that mental jail, change my thinking patterns, and start believing in myself.

Leaving my family home and moving by myself to the United States at the age of 20 was one of the best decisions of my life. It truly saved me. I do not know where I would have ended up if I had continued listening to the constant negativity and limiting beliefs around me.

It took me years to get to where I am now, but I made it. I did not allow my childhood to destroy my whole life. After I discovered my passion, I feel unstoppable.

What drew you to pursue a career in cybersecurity?

I started from zero. After working as a nail stylist for 12 years and learning English, I decided to go back to school and completely change my life path.

When I first learned about cybersecurity, I felt an immediate connection to it and could not stop thinking about it. Over time, it truly changed my life. Through education, technology, and the cybersecurity community, I went through enormous personal growth and transformation.

I transformed from a shy person who struggled with English into a confident aspiring cybersecurity professional with a strong interest in threat modeling, AI security, and incident response. Cybersecurity gave me purpose, direction, and a new life.

What stresses does the Dream Award relieve? Are you able to pursue opportunities or outside activities you couldn’t before?

The Dream Award relieves a major amount of financial stress related to paying for college. I am currently unemployed, and I already enrolled in seven classes for the fall semester without knowing how I would fully pay for them. This scholarship helps relieve stress related to tuition and books.

How do you plan to spend your summer, and what are you most looking forward to when school starts again?

I plan to complete all my cybersecurity and AI security courses and projects this summer. I am currently working on the HackDefender Crimeware Defender Academy focused on malware analysis and threat investigation, AWS AI Engineering through Udacity focused on hands-on agentic AI projects, the AI Open Source Capstone through CodePath focused on AI engineering, and Google’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Ready (GEAR) program focused on agentic AI and AI agent development. I also recently joined the OWASP Agentic AI Security Initiative as a Section Lead working on memory integrity and persistence topics.

In July, I plan to attend a Google Developer workshop in Los Angeles. In August, I will volunteer at Black Hat and DEF CON in Las Vegas, where I also plan to participate in AI security and threat modeling sessions, including APPSEEC threat modeling training.

When school starts again, I’m looking forward to continuing to build my technical skills and applying what I learn to real-world cybersecurity and AI security projects.

This will be an exciting summer!

What’s your dream or ideal plan right after graduating? How about in five years?

Right after graduating, I want to find a stable job and get out of debt. In five years, I want to expand my knowledge about investing and the stock market, build a safety net, and never struggle financially again. I also want to become highly knowledgeable in threat modeling methodologies, contribute to OWASP projects, lead future cybersecurity initiatives, and participate in as many AI security and threat modeling workshops as possible. I would also love to teach others online, become an AI security researcher, and eventually speak at cybersecurity conferences.

Long term, I would love to build my own business focused on AI security. I was an entrepreneur when I worked as a nail technician, so in many ways it would feel like coming back to my roots of building something of my own. Working for yourself hits different.

Finally, I hope that in the future I will be in a position where I can help others who experienced abuse at home and support them through their own breakthrough, healing, and journey back to their true selves.

If you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

I would tell myself: Do not lower your standards for anyone. If you do not match certain people, it is for a reason. It is not your tribe. It is okay to move on and even be alone for a while. Over time, you will attract the right people who will match your energy, genuinely care for you, and who will support your growth, goals, and future.