Posted: Monday 12.30.2024 10:07 am 
DEARBORN — Bissan Elzein, a senior at Dearborn High School, has earned a full-ride scholarship to Columbia University, an Ivy League institution located in New York City.
Through the QuestBridge National College Match Program, a program that that helps connect high-achieving low-income students with top universities across the country, Elzein applied and was selected as one of the 7,288 finalists out of over 25,500 applicants. According to the QuestBridge website, 2,627 finalists were able to match with 52 of the program’s college partners.
Upon being selected as a finalist, Elzein was able to rank up to 15 colleges out of the program’s 52 college partners, including Ivy League institutions. She said she chose to rank nine schools of her preference and waited for match day to find out her results. On December 2, Elzein learned that she matched with Columbia University.
She leads a decorated academic career, serving as the senior class president while maintaining a 4.43 cumulative GPA.
A participant in many extracurricular activities, Elzein has various achievements, including being selected to participate in a research program at Indiana University, qualifying internationally in HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America), serving as a teen intern on the Adolescent Health Initiative at the University of Michigan and serving on the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council for Dearborn Public Schools.
This past summer, Elzein completed a research experience through the Summer Science Program (SSP), a six-week intensive research program available to high school juniors. She told The Arab American News that the program has an acceptance rate of around 10 percent, and she was accepted to the biochemistry cohort at Indiana University. She said she spent six weeks with 35 other participants from across the U.S., as well as some students from abroad, working collaboratively with college professors and peers to complete a research project pertaining to fungal inhibitor design to help combat food insecurity.
She said that the research project was profoundly beneficial, sharing that the sciences —specifically biochemistry — have always been a significant area of interest for her, and this research was geared toward that. She added that it helped her hone her goals and area of study.
“Also, the fact that STEM research also has benefits toward big global health issues kind of helped me narrow down the fact that I wanted to kind of study the intersection between STEM and public health related issues specifically,” she said. “So I would definitely say it was one of the most beneficial experiences I’ve had in my life, and I know that it’s prepared me for my future.”
Elzein, a Muslim Arab American, is a child of Lebanese immigrants and shared that those pieces of her identity are a driving force in her life. She acknowledged her parents’ struggles navigating through life in America as immigrants, stating that it stands as motivation for her ever-present hard work and pursuit of a higher education. She said that leaving home to pursue a college degree is not widely normalized within the community. Expressing her gratitude for the opportunity, she said she is committed to being a positive representation of the community in her collegiate journey.
“So it definitely gives me kind of a push to go out and really represent our community in the most positive way that I can and to show younger people that aspire to be in my position and to do the things that I’ve done.”
But she wants to go even further than that — “to kind of just encourage younger students and younger kids who have those aspirations to use your identity to your advantage and always let it drive you to reach your goals.”
When asked if attending an Ivy League institution was ever a goal of hers, she shared that she never really allowed herself to believe it was possible, recognizing the difficulty of earning acceptance into such schools. Now, she stands as a living testament that it is possible to achieve, with hard work and determination.
Along with her esteemed academic career, Elzein is passionate about soccer. She has played since around the age of 5 and said the game has played a significant role in shaping who she is, equipping her with the necessary teamwork and leadership skills. She also credits the sport for forming some of her closest friendships.
“I hope my acceptance can inspire or motivate younger students or students who have these goals, just to show them that anything is possible if you work hard and put your mind to it,” she said.
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News, views and interviews from the Arab world and the Arab American Community.
