Welcome to College Week at Concept Schools!
As you have seen on all of our social media channels, our organization has been celebrating all of our wonderful high school seniors who have been accepted into college. It is no small feat, and we are excited to keep spreading the news highlighting what the next chapter looks like for these future leaders.
Here’s a breakdown of where our students are going to be taking the next step of their educational journeys.
In Illinois, Chicago Math and Science Academy’s Miguel Chora and Jonathan Manzo both got into Harvard and received scholarships for over $331,000. Brilliance must run in the Manzo family as Jonathan followed in the footsteps of his brother, Alcides (who also went to CMSA), by getting into Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Cornell and other prestigious institutions.
Horizon Science Academy Southwest student Frankie Pete is going to be attending University of Illinois next year and is planning on majoring in health sciences. She credited HSA for giving her the space to find out what her passions are so she can enter her freshman year with a clear vision for what she wants to do with her life.
“I feel like my school has really prepared me with vast knowledge of different fields,” Pete said. “Now I’m prepared and can go into college with certainty of what it is that I’m interested in and what I’m not interested in. I think that’s crucial because it’ll save me more time so I don’t have to explore or experiment."
HSA McKinley Park senior Emmanuel Ceja-Barajas, who is also going to University of Illinois, added he felt empowered by his school to open up his personality and speak up when needed. He plans on using those skills when he goes to medical school and feels prepared to take on the challenges that come with transitioning to college.
"I also plan on gaining more independency," he said, "while also balancing that networking aspect of meeting new students and teachers who have similar aspirations as me. It's definitely a shift and the adaptability is (something) I'll have to overcome."
Other Illinois Shout Outs: HSA McKinley Park: Abraham Claudio (University of Notre Dame, Villanova University); CMSA: Precious Aliyah Adedokun and Juveriya Ghouri (Northwestern University); HSA Southwest: Breanna Frazier (Columbia University, Marquette University); HSA Southwest: Liliana Garfias (Michigan State University, University of Illinois); HSA Southwest: Lanyie Rhodes (Iowa State University, New York Institute of Technology).
Going further south to Missouri, Gateway Science Academy, which was ranked the top charter high school in the state last year, has plenty of seniors to celebrate from its graduating class this year.
Senior Murllin Bender got into Harvard University after excelling in and out of the classroom during his time at GSA. Last December, Ryan Duong (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Farzad Fakhruddin (Boston University) were each rewarded with a QuestBridge Scholarship which covers tuition, housing, school supplies, travel expenses and on-campus dining.
Duong said he’s dreamt of going to MIT and has loved STEM for “as long as (he) can remember” while Fakhruddin is looking forward to using his studies to become a cardiologist. After his father suffered a heart attack, Fakhruddin wanted to pursue cardiology as a career to give back to his community once he graduates college.
“I’m a pretty religious person and I decided that it’s a very sacred and holy job to take care of people,” Fakhruddin said. “I’m going to study something like biology but the ultimate goal is to become a cardiologist so I can give back to my community.”
Other Missouri Shout Outs: GSA: Gulnihal Iyiyol, Alper Yildiz, Joy Garcia-Pintor, Murllin Bender, Mia Doran (Washington University).
Over in Indiana, IMSA North is excited to see what Victory Agunbiade, Opeyemi Kolurejo and Jensy Godinez Santamaria will do next year after all three were admitted to Purdue University. Their fellow senior Gloria Flores will be attending Ball State University this upcoming fall and will major in either general architecture or urban planning.
Flores, who was also accepted into University of Virginia, said her teachers’ influence on her helped her become the person she is today. She wants to thank Ms. Aslan for helping her find her passion in math and problem solving; Ms. Reinhart for opening up her personality; Mr. Brown for teaching her discipline and time management; and Mr. Harrell for encouraging her to explore her passion for architecture.
“Indiana Math and Science Academy gave me a lot of opportunities to have self-growth, not only academically, but personally,” Flores said. “For example, [the debate team] really helped me get out of my shell and become the person I am today where I am able to speak in front of a lot of people which I used to not be able to do.
“Academically––robotics, rocketry, and CYSP is also where I learned the best things to do when I want to study, how to set goals for myself at a pace where I can make it to what I want to do without overwhelming myself.”
Across the state of Ohio, our schools from HSA and Noble Academy are proud of their seniors for the work they put in to make the leap to college next year. Some of the highlights include HSA Dayton’s Jade Jones getting into the Modern College of Design in Ohio and her classmate Skyler Boston being accepted into St. John’s University. HSA Columbus High’s Suleikha Hakim also got into George Washington University's Elliot School of International Affairs.
Hakim's fellow senior Temidayo Owoyemi will be attending University of Mississippi after a record-breaking track and field season. She credited HSA for the support it gave her to eventually achieve her dreams of being a part of a prestigious college sports program.
“I felt like Horizon has helped me find out who I am––not just from sports,” Owoyemi said. “The teachers have helped me out a whole lot. They’ve encouraged me whenever I’ve gone to an event or a meet, and they congratulate me no matter what result I had. They always say, ‘You did a great job, I know you tried your best.’
“I’m obviously really grateful for my teachers, counselors and coaches, and that’s really what Horizon has really helped me out with.”
Issa Abdelrahman is also grateful for the supportive staff at HSA Columbus High and all of the energy they put into helping him get into Ohio State University. He is going to major in public health and feels ready to take on all of the challenges that he will face next fall after going through HSA's college prep programs.
“All of the faculty at the Horizon Science Academy High School have helped me get to where I am today,” Abdelrahman said, “but I specifically want to shout out Ms. Cara, Mrs. Forsbach, Mr. NJ, and Mr. Paulson as they helped me throughout my college credit plus journey.”
Other Ohio Shout Outs: HSA Lorain: Jayshon McGhee, Alyah Rivera Torres, Gabrielle Teele, Lilianna Vaughn, Timothy Vovak, Carly Watkins (Ohio State University); HSA Toledo: Brayden Bowers (Michigan State University), James Merriweather and Armahn Nash (Kent State University); HSA Columbus High Mohsin Abbey (Miami University - Oxford)
Concept Schools would also like to shout out its seniors from Michigan and Minnesota as they get ready to close out their time in high school. Minnesota Math and Science Academy's Mumtas Ahmed, Isa Alibos, Farhia Awil and Amina Abdullahi all got accepted into University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities.
On the other side of the Midwest, Michigan Math and Science Academy Dequindre's Meryem Ilmammedova got into a series of Chicago-based institutions like DePaul University, Loyola University and University of Illinois-Chicago. Her classmates Amere Williams (University of Michigan-Flint, Michigan Technological University), Tahmid Ahmed (University of Michigan-Dearborn, University of Detroit-Mercy) and Brielle Banks (Michigan State University) have plenty of options for where they can to attend school next year.
Congratulations to all of our seniors on their incredible achievements! Concept Schools is proud of each and every one of you.
