South Florida student Ynette Lopez was promised a college scholarship in 2007 by the I Have a Dream Foundation, but now, as a high school senior in 2020, is being told the foundation will not be providing her with any money.
As reported by WSVN, and pointed out by Complex, Lopez was promised $3,000 per year for whichever four-year college or university she commits to by the I Have a Dream foundation, back when she was in kindergarten at Hibiscus Elementary School but has now been told she cannot have it because she "did not keep up with the program."
"Legally, this is really tricky, because the contract is not clear, and there is wiggle room for both sides," legal expert Howard Finkelstein told WSVN. "The foundation has a strong argument, because after Ynette moved, she did not go to any of their programs, and Zondra said she only contacted them every year or two. But favoring Ynette is that she got great grades, did volunteer work and became the kind of student the scholarship was created for."
The situation has gone viral on Twitter for being eerily similar to a plotline from The Office where Michael Scott has to renege on a scholarship he promised a group of children years earlier.