An ambitious high school senior is finishing her senior year at the top of her class, with an impressive 5.1 GPA. Kenwood Academy valedictorian, Arianna Alexander, was accepted into a whopping 26 universities, including 6 Ivy League institutions.
The Chicago native spoke with ABC Chicago about her initial reaction to receiving so many acceptance letters, telling the local news affiliate,”[At first] 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.â€
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Arianna says it was her father who came up with the idea for her to strive to receive at least $1 million in scholarship money, after seeing a fellow Kenwood Academy student do so a few years ago. She recants her father’s words:
“Work hard, pray on it, and don’t give up. No matter what happens, you did your best.”
After giving it her all, Arianna was able to exceed this goal, as her scholarship offers totaled $3 million. She humbly credits her dad for her tremendous accomplishment.
“I planted the seed in Arianna’s mind that you can do the same thing. 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,” Pierre Alexander, Arianna’s father, told the local affiliate.
Her father says the scholarship offers were a blessing for their family, as they were concerned about Arianna’s college expenses, having already sent her three older siblings off to college.
Arianna has confirmed that she will be attending the University of Pennsylvania, as a student of their prestigious Wharton School of Business, in the fall. Her ultimate career goal is to open 4 restaurants.
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