Melanie Earle, 17, was involved in a car crash four years ago, leaving her with post-traumatic stress that she struggled to talk about for a long time. She hopes to use her scholarship to pursue mechanical engineering, humanitarian studies and maybe a language or two.

Jaylen Campbell, 17, earned top grades in middle school but was frustrated when his efforts did not improve life for his family in Brooklyn. So he collected bottles and cans on the street to recycle for a nickel apiece. Now he feels the academic work is paying off. Another scholarship has taken him to China, and in college, he wants to study engineering and use it to improve people’s lives.

Nefertari Elshiekh, 18, worked several jobs to support her family and still became an honor student. She was so grateful for the education she received that she is determined to become an elementary schoolteacher — and to fight for fair educational policies.

Hanah Jun, 17, watched her mother struggle with mental illness while she and her grandmother did their best to stay afloat in Queens. But Ms. Jun also excelled as a volleyball player and musician, participated in student government and held part-time jobs. She is passionate about the environment and open-minded about her career. “I just want to help people,” she said. “I think that through everything, I’ve developed a very strong sense of empathy.”

Ms. Jun and several other scholarship winners described their favorite young adult novels or comic books with infectious enthusiasm, explaining that they found role models in fiction when they could not find them in real life. But the nonfiction was less comforting: In essays and interviews, all 10 pointed to recent news headlines that had left them unnerved or afraid.

Salma Elsayed, 17, a model student who taught English to girls in Egypt in 2017, was struck by news reports of teachers going on strike across the United States. “The issue of education in this country is constantly something I think about, and the disparities that students face,” she said.

Derek Rodriguez, 17, said news reports about children being separated from their parents at the United States border with Mexico struck a raw nerve. He could relate. His stepfather was taken away by immigration agents who stormed his home when he was 5. “That was the point when I had to grow up,” he said.