For as long as he can remember, Edgar Olozagaste has had a keen interest in computers. It would take a family crisis, however, for him to realize that they could be the key to his future.

The decisive catalyst was a series of heart-to-heart talks with his mother after Edgar and his siblings had been placed in foster homes. A single parent who labors arduously as a field hand, she was desperate to put the family’s finances in order and reunite with her children.

Her grit inspired Edgar to make changes in his own life.

“Those talks would get to me,” said Edgar, who was in ninth grade at the time. “I realized that my mom was sacrificing a lot and had already done so much for us. I also realized that I should be taking advantage of the opportunities that I had and set an example for my younger siblings.”

The family came back together later that year, and his epiphany led to a gradual academic rebound at Santa Maria High School. Edgar had become an indifferent student under the emotional weight of his family’s two-year ordeal, but by the 11th grade he was earning all A’s.

Today, Edgar is a freshman computer science major at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where he is attending as a first-generation college student with the help of a Peggy & John Maximus Scholarship.

Closer to home, he isn’t waiting to finish college to help his mother. Edgar works at a local Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchise and contributes financially to the care of his four younger siblings.

“I don’t want to be just another regular Joe,” he said. “I want to be someone different. I want to help people and leave my mark on the world.”