SC State receives ‘life savings’ donation from 13 year old

A 13-year-old girl gave her life savings to South Carolina State University in hopes that more students could receive an education.

From many angles, Katarina Judge is like any other kid enjoying summer break.  She swims, plays tennis, and helps to look after her younger brother and sister.

“I am still a 13-year-old; I still do 13-year-old things.  I like Justin Bieber a lot,” she said. She is also making moves to help others.  She donated $585, her entire life savings, to South Carolina State University for scholarships.

“If you don’t have an education, you can’t get a job, and if you can’t get a job, you’re not going to be successful,” she said.

Her father, Hardeep Judge, is the tennis coach at the school.

“It didn’t surprise me, because Katarina has always done stuff like that, even when she was a small child. If she got too many Christmas presents, she would give some away,” he said.

He says his daughter’s gift comes from a place of love and a place of concern. Just months after her friend was killed in a car accident, another life-changing event happened just outside her bedroom window.

“We heard gunshots, and so, I ran to the room, and Katarina was underneath the cover crying,” Hardeep said.

“Then I realized how fast life can go,” Katarina said.  “If they can get off the streets, if they can get a scholarship and get money, and then go to school, and then they can become successful one day and change the world.”

“It wasn’t a lot of money, but for Katarina, it was everything she had,” Hardeep said.

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Tags: black, coach, college, donation, education, HBCU, historically, judge, katarina, life, minority, savings, South Carolina State University, tennis, university