Sometimes, good things happen to good people.

Young Lauren Burgos had always planned to go to college, possibly even to become a lawyer. But when her father died while she was still in high school, she took a job to help her family, eventually working 40-60 hours a week at a Manhattan hotel so her brother could attend college, while she helped pay the rent. Dreams of higher education became a distant memory for the 22-year-old, but her family never forgot.

When her brother, Matt, learned that Strayer University was looking to award scholarships to people whose obstacles had forced them to take a detour in life, instead of pursuing college, he submitted Lauren's story of selflessness.

At a surprise birthday party last month, Lauren Burgos stood aghast when her family in Brooklyn broke the news that she was one of three people chosen to receive a full scholarship– and money for books, too.

"You sacrificed… you kept me going," her brother Matt told her.

"I'm getting a full ride to school," Lauren told a camera crew that was recording the surprise for Strayer. Laughing and wiping away tears, she dared finally to dream again.

"In five to ten years, I will be a self-confident, independent woman traveling the world."

(WATCH the heartwarming video below)

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