Michaela Edwards will be the first to tell you she lived an idyllic childhood her first few years growing up on Catalina Island. But the recession in 2008 ended that.

Her father’s construction business slowed. Her mother lost her job and her parents were forced to sell their home — the house Michaela grew up in. The economic uncertainty that followed cast a shadow over her plans to go to college to pursue environmental studies, her passion.

But Michaela put those worries aside during a recent Avalon School sports assembly. As the school band’s drummer, she was asked before the assembly to be ready to play a drum roll prelude for “an announcement about an important student award.”

On cue, Michaela played the drum roll, but to her surprise, it ended up being for herself as she learned she was the one who won the award — a $40,000 Edison Scholars college scholarship.

For more stories on Edison Scholars and other Edison news, visit Edison's Online Newsroom.

To learn more about Edison's philanthropic programs, read Power in Partnerships: Community Investment Report 2014.