New York City Uncommon Schools had the most QuestBridge Match Scholarship recipients in its history, with 17 students earning full rides to some of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the nation.
Karla Penaloza, a student at Uncommon Collegiate Charter School, is among the QuestBridge Scholarship recipients, which matches high-achieving high school seniors from low-income backgrounds with full four-year scholarships to 55 of the nation’s top colleges. These students were selected out of over 25,500 applicants, and the scholarship, valued at over $325,000, covers 100% of the costs.
“QuestBridge helps to solidify my future. I am able to help my parents financially, and honestly, that has been my goal since I was born,” said Penaloza, a first-generation college student who plans to study business at Emory University this fall. She was filled with doubt in the moments before she opened the life-changing email, but once she did, tears poured out and she immediately told her mom, “I got it… you don’t have to pay.” 
Watch the moment Uncommon Students found out they became QuestBridge Scholars
Her classmate, Madison Waithe, described the many steps and supplements of the QuestBridge application process as an emotional rollercoaster. Nevertheless, she feels lucky to be chosen. “I am grateful for this experience and to have gone through this process. QuestBridge means excellence, it means perseverance, it means determination. I think it is going to make me a better adult in the end,” said Waithe, who is headed to Boston University with the goal of becoming a crime scene investigator.
At Uncommon Preparatory Charter High School (UPC) in Canarsie, fellow winner Zeinab Saidou is looking forward to starting her life with a full-ride to Dartmouth College this fall to pursue a biology degree. She wishes her mother, who passed away in October of last year, would have lived to see her accepted to an Ivy League school. Her mother’s memory spurs on Saidou, who aspires to be a doctor. “I always knew that I wanted to work in a hospital because growing up, my mom had numerous health problems. I saw what those doctors did. I see how they helped my Mom. I see how they helped other people and that motivated me,” explained Saidou.
Her classmate, Carson Maxilien-Douglas, spent countless afternoons working with a writing coach at UPC to complete his QuestBridge college application, often staying at school until 8pm to finesse his essays. Maxilien-Douglas has dyslexia, but that didn’t stop him from excelling academically: he graduated at the top of his class. He counts his Questbridge win as a hard-won victory. ”I gotta put extra work in. I have a very hard time spelling words, and that’s very difficult,” says Maxilien-Douglas. He is grateful for the support of the teachers and college counselors who helped him along the way, because he says the cost of college would have been too expensive for his family otherwise. He is attending Boston University this fall, where he will study human psychology and plans to open his own sports management practice one day.
Laura Aracena, another QuestBridge winner from Uncommon Leadership Charter High School (ULC), is headed to Vassar College with hopes of becoming a pediatrician. For her college essay, she wrote about the importance of representation in the medical field. “I never fully understood the impact of seeing someone who looked like me doing something I thought wasn’t achievable for me, until I saw my doctor, a woman of color, and I realized that I wasn’t limited. My goal is to someday be an example of Hispanic representation in health care that I wish I had growing up. I believe there should be as many kinds of doctors, when it comes to race, religion, identity, or gender, as there are patients,” she wrote.
Aracena’s fellow classmate, Aliyat Ishola, is headed to Emory University, where she plans to pursue a pre-med major as a QuestBridge scholar. Ishola moved here from Nigeria as a six-year-old who spoke no English. Deeply committed to her education, she commutes from Staten Island to Brooklyn every day to attend ULC. “Growing up, in both Nigeria and America, I saw women in my communities die from fibroids in their uterus, cervical cancer, and more. I aspire to create a nonprofit organization helping women who can’t afford care. I believe medical care is a God-given human right,” she wrote in her QuestBridge essay. “My dream is to support mothers and deliver their babies… After leaving the peaceful darkness of their mother’s womb, I can make sure each child’s first breath on this earth… is one of love, strength, and faith in their future, whether they’re a rose in a garden or a rose growing out of concrete.”
At Uncommon Charter High School (UCHS), in the heart of Crown Heights, Kalina Francois discovered her love of STEM. As a child, she loved to read all books, but especially those about biology and anatomy. At first, she thought surgery would be her calling, but today she is headed to Dartmouth College to study chemical engineering. At UCHS, Kalina was able to explore her interests and discovered the joy of innovation and building; she has decided to dedicate her life to “making things because it makes her happy.” The QuestBridge Scholarship will allow her to focus on her studies and follow her passions. “With a degree in chemical engineering, I hope to make energy-efficient, cost-effective machines that can be used by the entire world,” she explains.
UCHS senior Nyema Cassanova was matched with Colby College through QuestBridge, where she plans to major in psychology. She credits her counselors with exposing her to colleges she would have never considered. During her senior year, she interned at Uncommon Excellence Pre-K, which helped her figure out her career goals. She hopes to one day become a therapist for adolescents and young adults. “I really believe in mental health, I love the idea of helping someone overcome their challenges and become the best version of themselves, and I want people to feel comfortable expressing how they feel. If I go into therapy and make safe spaces for people, then they will make safe spaces for others.”
These are just a few of the stories of Uncommon NYC’s 17 QuestBridge Scholars, which also include Laniyah Davis, Marquis Sinclair, Camila Sosa, Moses Tanimowo, Nzingha Wright, Solana Loney, Mariama Sow, Deonte Thomas, and Donovan White. These students invested hundreds of hours in the application process for a chance to earn a scholarship that would enable them to attend college without financial worries. In return, these students promise to make a difference and change the world.
For more information about Uncommon Schools NYC, please visit https://uncommonschools.org/nyc-enrollment
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