Taylor Swift surprised a student with a $30,000 donation to her college tuition fund

• Taylor Swift donated approximately $30,000 (£23,373) to the GoFundMe page of an 18-year-old student, Vitoria Mario, who was offered to study math at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom but was ineligible for loans or grants.
• Swift's donation, which she made on Thursday, completed Mario's goal of raising approximately $52,000 (£40,000).
• Mario, who shared her story on her fundraising page, is from Portugal and moved to the UK in 2016 to live with relatives and study.
• Mario told the BBC on Friday that she wants to give Swift a hug, calling the donation "a blessing."
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Taylor Swift recently made a donation to a student's tuition fund that will now allow her to attend college.

The "Folklore" artist donated $30,000 on Thursday to the GoFundMe page of Vitoria Mario, who identified herself as an 18-year-old in London.

A representative for GoFundMe confirmed with Insider via email that Swift, herself, made the donation.

Mario wrote on her fundraising page that she was given a conditional offer to enroll at the University of Warwick and study math, but her family is unable to afford it, and she is unable to qualify for loans or grants.

"Vitoria, I came across your story online and am so inspired by your drive and dedication to turning your dreams into reality. I want to gift you the rest of your goal amount. Good luck with everything you do! Love, Taylor," Swift wrote on Mario's GoFundMe page.

Mario, who shared her story on the GoFundMe page, wrote that she left her home country, Portugal, in 2016 to live with relatives and study in London.

"My name is Vitoria Mario, and I am a young Black 18 year old with a dream," Mario wrote.

"Sadly, my father has passed away, and my mother remains in Portugal. Moving away from her was a challenge but it was a sacrifice worth being made, in my family's eyes. 'If you can get a university education in the UK, you will be set apart for life,'" Mario continued on her GoFundMe page.

Mario said that when she started school in the UK, she was "unable to utter a word in English."

She told the BBC that she mainly learned the language on her own from watching shows and movies on Netflix. In school, Mario went on to earn high marks, excelling in math, English, and physics.

After Swift's donation, Mario met her goal of raising approximately $52,000 (£40,000).

"I was wondering how to reach enough people to hit my goal and now this miracle has happened. I'm just over the moon," Mario told GoFundMe.

"I call it a blessing," Mario said in an interview with BBC Breakfast.

Swift has been known to surprise fans and strangers in need by giving them monetary donations.

For example, in March, the pop star donated to at least five fans who posted on Tumblr about how the coronavirus pandemic had impacted their lives and families with financial hardship.

In August 2019, Swift surprised a fan, Ayesha Khurram, with a donation of almost $5,000 toward her college tuition.

• Read more:
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• A newspaper deliveryman has picked up groceries for people in need more than 900 times since the start of the pandemic
• A 96-year-old World War II veteran who was named Italy's oldest college student just graduated at the top of his class

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