Today at 4:04 a.m.
by Staff Reports
Six Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts seniors have been awarded full-ride scholarships to six top universities through the 2024 QuestBridge National College Match Program.
Sarah Pham, of Hot Springs, received a match to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT. Jaime Hernandez Perez, of Decatur, received a match to attend Brown University. Hailey Judkins, of Benton, received a match to attend College of the Holy Cross.
Katherine Quintanilla, of Nashville, received a match to attend the University of Pennsylvania. Ezekiel Summers, of Paragould, received a match to attend Johns Hopkins University. Plinio Tola, of Little Rock, received a match to attend Wesleyan University.
“QuestBridge is a nonprofit organization that connects exceptional low-income youth with leading institutions of higher education,” a news release said. “QuestBridge works with top universities across the country to offer four-year, full scholarships to deserving students who may otherwise be unable to afford to attend those institutions. The organization partnered this year with 52 colleges and universities to offer scholarships at institutions such as Duke University, Columbia University, Yale and others.”
The scholarship covers the cost of attendance, including tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and travel expenses.
This year’s recipients were chosen from more than 25,500 applicants, including 7,288 finalists, according to a QuestBridge release. From the finalists, 2,627 were matched with college partners.
“I don’t think I have truly processed how much receiving the Match Scholarship means yet, but I am definitely grateful for it,” Hernandez Perez said in the release.
Hernandez Perez would like to study genomics through a concentration in biology.
“In terms of my future career, the Match Scholarship facilitates many opportunities such as research and access to institution-specific benefits at a great university,” he said.
Judkins said matching with Holy Cross, located in Worcester, Mass., will allow her to explore a world outside of the place she has lived her whole life while pursuing a career at a school that has amazing programs in her field.
She plans to major in behavioral and cognitive psychology and work with adolescents, the release.
“I intend to focus my studies on mental disabilities and research the methods that are best for helping them overcome tendencies based on their behaviors. With roughly 500 students learning what I would be learning in some form or fashion, I knew that I would have a group of individuals to share my passion with,” she said.
Pham, who plans to study mathematics at MIT, said she was sitting on the floor of the closet in her room, the same place she sat when she opened the notice telling her that she was a QuestBridge Finalist. She said as soon as she saw the result, she cried for two minutes before calling her family.
Quintanilla plans to major in political science with a minor in psychology and East Asian Studies with a focus in Japanese. She said matching with Penn was a dream come true.
“Never did it cross my mind that I could have the opportunity to go to college debt-free, let alone at an Ivy (League institution). I will be the first person in my entire family to go to college on a full-ride and at an Ivy. I’m breaking barriers and making my family proud. Having the privilege of matching to Penn is a relief,” she said.
Summers plans to study some form of plant sciences, such as mycology, that could possibly serve as the basis for an ecosystem on another planet, at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
“There were a lot of factors that went into me deciding on what college to go to, from having astronomy to having astrobiology and a strong biology program, and even further to being located near a NASA base,” he said.
Privacy Preferences
Copyright © 2024, The Sentinel-Record
All rights reserved.
This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of The Sentinel-Record.
Material from the Associated Press is Copyright © 2024, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. All rights reserved.