BOSTON -- Jada Nguyen missed being the first person in her family to attend college by one minute.

Her Harvard-bound twin sister, born 60 seconds before she was, will receive that honor. Jada decided she didn't feel like going through "another four years on the Red Line," so she will be entering Princeton University this year on a Questbridge National College Match Scholarship.

Such a future seemed utterly out of reach when she was born. Jada's mother came to the U.S. from Vietnam at age 14. She never got to go to college because she became pregnant with Jada and her sister. Instead of furthering her education, she worked long hours in a nail salon to support her daughters. She pleaded with Jada to go to college and live a better life than she did. Jada said that her mother sacrificed her own dreams to make hers possible.

That's why she wanted Jada to enroll in St. John Paul II Catholic Academy in Dorchester. With the help of a Catholic Schools Foundation scholarship, Jada attended JPII Catholic Academy and will be graduating from Cristo Rey Boston High School this year.

"At Cristo Rey, classes like theology, ethics, biology, and government fostered a deep passion for learning and fueled my ambitions to pursue a career that united health policy and patient care," she said.

She served as a tour guide for the school and was a member of its student council. After school, she worked at the Boston Health Education Center and took care of her younger brother with her sister's help. Thanks to Cristo Rey's work study program, she discovered the Broad Summer Scholars Program, which found her work in a lab that used DNA barcoding technology to test cancer treatments. Working at the lab inspired her to pursue a career where she could give back to her family, many of whom struggle with health issues.

"What I also inherited from my mom, besides her work ethic, was her persistence," she said. "I am grateful to have many strong, caring, and persistent women in my family."

At Princeton, she will major in molecular biology and minor in global and health policy.

"I hope to become a doctor caring for my patients in the same way my mom treated me with guidance and compassion," she said.

Jada told her story at the 36th annual Catholic Schools Foundation's annual Building Minds Scholarship Fund Gala, held at the Boston Marriott Copley Place on April 16. The gala was a chance to celebrate the success of students like Jada, and the generosity of the donors who helped raise millions of dollars to provide CSF scholarships to 4,300 students in the Archdiocese of Boston -- one-eighth of the archdiocese's student body. One hundred percent of CSF scholarship recipients graduate from high school, and 98 percent go on to college.

Jada thanked those at the gala for supporting her and the other scholars, "no matter where they come from."

"My story is one of the many thousands because of you," Jada said. "This is just my beginning."

CSF Executive Director Mike Reardon opened the gala by asking Catholic school faculty and staff to stand up and be recognized.

"Without you, this doesn't work, and we at the Catholic Schools Foundation are honored to partner with you to be able to change the lives of 4,300 students a year," he said.

He said that the Educational Choice for Children Act, recently passed by Congress, would provide tax credits for families to support scholarships at Catholic and other private schools. If a state opts into the program, taxpayers would be able to set aside $1,700 each year for scholarships and receive a tax credit in return.

"That has been possible because of the leadership of people like Renee and Mike Minogue, who have worked on this for years," Reardon said.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey will decide whether to opt into the program in the next few weeks.

"If Massachusetts opts in, there will be more opportunities for students," Reardon said.

However, he said, the work of CSF will still not be done. Since the pandemic, 1,000 more students with CSF scholarships have enrolled in Boston Catholic schools.

"The demand is there, because this education saves lives, and I'm so grateful to all of you," he said.

Delivering the invocation, Archbishop Richard G. Henning said, "As the Foundation says frequently, 'Catholic education changes lives. Your presence here this evening, we can equally say, changes lives."

He thanked God for the gift of Catholic education and asked for his blessing upon the works of Boston's Catholic educators.

"May our schools ever and always teach Christ," he said.

During the evening, gala attendees were shown a video featuring St. John Paul II Catholic Academy, introduced by alum Samuel Cintra, who came to the U.S. from Cuba at age 10, knowing no English. He received a CSF scholarship and graduated as the valedictorian of Cathedral High School's Class of 2019.

Cintra said that Catholic education works because it gives students a purpose.

"These schools encourage students to grow in faith and knowledge in a safe, nurturing, structured, and culturally diverse environment," he said.

The annual Carolyn and Peter Lynch Award was presented to Travis and Rachel Rhodes, longtime supporters of the Campaign for Catholic Schools, an organization that aims to revitalize urban Catholic education in the archdiocese. Travis Rhodes serves as CCS's vice chair. He and Rachel recently helped establish a new health and wellness center at Trinity Catholic Academy in Brockton, where Rachel Rhodes serves on the Board of Trustees.

"These are two spectacular leaders who represent everything that's great," CSF Chairman Emeritus Peter Lynch said of the Rhodes. "Again, this is all about children at the most important part of their life, there's incredible gifts for endowment, all to help kids go to college."

Travis Rhodes grew up in the small town of Worthington in Western Massachusetts. In public school, he only had 11 students in his grade, and he was the only Catholic among them. The local priest would give him CCD one-on-one in the town hall, which was also where Mass was celebrated. From an early age, Travis's father taught him to fight for those who couldn't fight for themselves.

"It made a lasting impression," he said. "I knew as a Catholic, as a young kid, that something different or something extra was expected of me, and that lesson was very much reinforced at home."

Rachel Rhodes, on the other hand, had 1,000 children in her grade. She grew up in Brockton with parents who made sure she and her brother attended Mass and religious ed.

"Faith was important," she said. "My parents built our confidence, but also taught us that God gives every child gifts and talents, and too often, financial insecurity, addiction, and other struggles at home make it hard for some kids to realize their potential."

When she and Travis met, they agreed that they had been lucky in their upbringings and, as early as their first date, they decided that they wanted to help less fortunate children.

"Our view of the world, it starts with the idea that nobody achieves success by themselves," Travis Rhodes said. "Those who do, well, I think they're a little delusional."

Rachel Rhodes said the donors "fight for kids" like Nguyen and Cintra.\

"You're amazing, and you're the ones who support these beautiful children every day, providing a positive, nurturing environment in which to learn," she said.