Megin Madruga has had a whirlwind start to her college career.

A good student with a 3.88 high school GPA, Madruga, 18, was equally as competitive on the tennis court, placing third at state her senior year.

She knew she would go on to college after graduating from high school in Corvallis, on the western side of the state.

But, because her family couldn’t afford college, Madruga planned to work a year and then go to school in either Billings or Bozeman.

Last summer, she began working at a day care five days a week and took a part-time job serving food samples at a grocery store.

While in high school, she told her counselor about her plans to go to college. The counselor then passed along Madruga’s interests to Montana State University Billings and MSU in Bozeman.

Out of the blue three months ago, she got a call from MSU Billings coach Jerry Peach asking her to join the school’s tennis team.

Then, early last month, he offered her a tennis scholarship that would cover her tuition.

When she told him that neither she nor her parents could afford the rest of the cost of college, he suggested that she apply for the $2,500 Brynn and Kara McDonald Scholarship available through the MSU Billings Foundation.

She applied on a Friday and heard that she got the scholarship on Monday, two days before classes started.

She also received a $200 book scholarship through the Foundation’s Wine and Food Festival funds.

She and her parents packed up her things and drove to Billings on Tuesday. On Wednesday, she took placement tests and began classes that Friday, only a couple of days late.

One reason she settled quickly into school was because she knew what she wanted to major in: elementary education.

While working at the day care, she had a knack with children who wouldn’t open up to other employees. She found she enjoyed gently coaxing a child out of his shell.

“It was really cool,” she said with a smile.

This semester, she’s taking several education courses as well as a general psychology class.

She also practices and works out with the tennis team two hours a day.

She finds the Billings campus “homey” and likes the challenge of her classes.

“I can’t stand getting anything less than an A,” she said.

Being able to come to school a semester earlier than she had planned is working out well. She missed school, and she is relieved that she didn’t have to sit on the sidelines for a full year.

“Everything has worked out so wonderfully,” she said. “It’s amazing I’m here.”