A recent Ohio high school graduate who lived as a refugee in Uganda for a significant portion of her youth has amassed scholarships worth about $250,000 in total.

According to a press release from Columbus City Schools, Juliane Lukambo said, “I’ve worked really hard all these years with taking college classes, being involved, and getting the scholarships is showing recognition that I did a lot, and the reward is what I get.”

Lukambo spent 10 years in Uganda after her family fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to CBS affiliate WBNS, before being awarded a scholarship worth $240,000.

I spent the majority of my youth in Uganda since we were forced to flee the continuing war, she told the newspaper. “Life in the camps for refugees was not simple.”

The soon-to-be-distinguished student claimed that the transition to a foreign country was challenging when the family moved to the United States.

When Lukambo started fifth grade at Valley Forge Elementary School, he told school district administrators, “You come here [to the U.S.] and you don’t know what to expect.”

Nevertheless, she was driven to participate in as many things as she could throughout middle and high school.

According to the district, Lukambo outperformed her rivals in everything she did, including STEM Club, sports, and bowling. She also received outstanding grades and noteworthy internships.

The girl managed her workload at Northland High School while still taking classes at nearby universities.

Lukambo, who encourages others to “get out of your comfort zone” because of all of her hard work and accomplishments, was elected valedictorian of her graduating class and will now attend the University of Dayton to study computer technology.

She told WBNS that overcoming the obstacles she had to face to get to where she is now had been a particularly difficult path, but it is “something I’m really grateful for and proud of.”