A passenger's gift helped a student apply to her dream school

NPR | By Laura Kwerel

Published March 16, 2026 at 4:30 PM EDT

Ana Maria Cuenca in the fall of 1997, shortly after being accepted to Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

In the 1990s, Ana Maria Cuenca's father drove a taxi in Miami. One of his regular clients was a businessman who hired him as a personal driver during work trips. The man always asked about Ana Maria, and at the end of each ride, he gave her father some extra cash meant for her.

On one particular trip, Cuenca's father mentioned that she was now in her first year of college. When the ride ended, the man took out his wallet. Usually, he pulled out twenty dollars. But this time, he took out a $50 bill.

"And he said, 'I'd like you to give it to your daughter so that she can buy herself something really nice,'" Cuenca said.

At that time, Cuenca was applying as a transfer student to Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, which she had wanted to attend since high school. But finances were tight for Cuenca and her family, and she wasn't sure how she was going to cover the $50 required for the application fee.

"Fifty dollars was a lot of money for a college student back in 1997. And unfortunately, at that point, my parents really couldn't give me a lot of money. They were both pretty working-class," Cuenca said.

"So the $50 came perfectly."

Cuenca used the man's gift to submit her application — and she was accepted to the program.

In the 26 years since she graduated, Cuenca has traveled the world, building a career in international affairs. When she looks back on that career, she often thinks about the businessman's gift and wishes she could tell him what she did with his $50.

"If I had this person in front of me, I would say that 'I bought a really, really nice thing with your gift,'" she said, addressing her unsung hero.

"And that was a chance at getting into the university that I had dreamed of going to. And I ended up going to that university. So every time I think about you, I thank you.'"

My Unsung Hero is also a podcast — new episodes are released every Tuesday. To share the story of your unsung hero with the Hidden Brain team, record a voice memo on your phone and send it to myunsunghero@hiddenbrain.org.