Chicago teen, Arianna Alexander, just redefined scholastic excellency. The high school senior has been accepted into 26 colleges, and earned $3 million in scholarship offers.
Reports ABC 7 Chicago:
Kenwood Academy’s valedictorian, Arianna Alexander, wants to go to college to learn about business. As it turns out, she has a number of options.
“It was a lot to take in. I received emails, letters. It was just like, ‘Come here, come here!’ They were bombarding me with all this information,” Arianna said.
Arianna hails from Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. She graduated with a 5.1 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.
She was accepted to 26 universities, including six Ivy League schools. Her scholarship offers total more than $3 million.
“I feel like it means I can afford college and I don’t have to worry about it. I feel like that’s an issue for a lot of people my age,” Arianna said.
Arianna’s father encouraged her top a million in scholarships after a local teen reached the mark last year. “I planted the seed in Arianna’s mind that you can do the same thing,” said Pierre Alexander. “So when the process got started and a million was achieved, let’s go for two. I said let’s go for three and she did it,”
Now that she’s met one goal, her parents can rest easy about college expenses. “It was a blessing because I’ve already put three through college,” Pierre said of Ariana being the youngest of four. “Now I don’t have to worry too much about her.”
The high schooler plans to attend the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and wants to be a restauranteur. “When she graduates from Penn, that will be a second goal,” said her dad.“We expect bigger and better things for her.”
While her father is already looking towards the future, Arianna’s learned a huge lesson from her achievements: “As long as you work hard, I feel like there is always a way for you.”
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Photo: screenshot
