Hope MacDonald, a Morris Jeff High School senior, pictured in December 2024 at Tulane University’s Dixion Hall after a New Orleans Ballet Association performance of The Nutcracker.
Hope MacDonald, a Morris Jeff High School senior, pictured in December 2024 at Tulane University’s Dixion Hall after a New Orleans Ballet Association performance of The Nutcracker.
Since she was a young girl, 18-year-old Hope MacDonald has spent hours each week at the New Orleans Ballet Association studio, perfecting her pointe, ballet and modern dance techniques.
Those grueling hours of dance practice instilled in her discipline — including the importance of punctuality and persistence — that she sees as instrumental to her success in school and building the resilience to overcome adversities, including the disruptions of COVID-19 and a period when her family was homeless.
“Dance is very rigorous,” said MacDonald, a senior at Morris Jeff Community School in New Orleans, “but I think it opens a lot of doors.”
MacDonald also pushed herself outside of the dance studio. At school, she participated in the International Baccalaureate, or IB, a rigorous college-prep program that combines demanding coursework with student-led research.
Her hard work paid off: Last year, MacDonald was chosen for the highly competitive QuestBridge National College Match, a scholarship program that covers full tuition, living expenses, books and travel so high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds can study at top universities. Only 7,000 students out of 25,000 applicants were selected for the program last year.
QuestBridge participants rank their top 15 colleges, and the program matches them with one. MacDonald was matched with Grinnell College, a small liberal arts college in Iowa. The first in her family to attend college, she plans to major in biochemistry and minor in dance.
“Hope’s academic journey is nothing short of inspiring,” said Patricia Perkins, head of school at Morris Jeff. “Despite challenges, Hope has consistently demonstrated perseverance and excellence.”
The Times-Picayune & The Advocate recently spoke with MacDonald about dance, her academic journey and her aspirations for the future.
The following interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Tell me a bit about your high school experience. What are you most proud of?
Growing up as a student I’ve always been introverted. I was always that kid in the back of the class that would never raise their hand and teachers were a little bit hesitant to push me.
But once I reached middle school and high school, especially last year, a lot of my teachers pushed me — especially in IB. It was challenging but I’m grateful that I had the opportunity because without that I probably wouldn’t have gotten my scholarship.
What does the IB program entail?
It’s a lot of work but usually you’re in a classroom with 15 people max so you’re getting one-on-one conversations. It’s more like a seminar. You’re allowed to learn freely, make mistakes.
Right now we’re doing personal experiments and investigations with teachers as our mentors to keep us in check and make sure we meet deadlines. Usually when you’re in IB it’s up to you with where you want to go with your future and career.
What kinds of projects have you worked on?
In IB Bio, I explored the different effects of a water-based primer compared to a silicone-based primer and what it does on the epidermis layer during average degree weather.
How did you find out about QuestBridge?
Some of my teachers nominated me for QuestBridge, which helps low-income students get into Ivy League schools or prestigious schools.
I was nominated in June, applied by Nov. 1 for the early decision deadline and heard back in December that I was a finalist. I was really nervous, but I got matched with Grinnell.
What made you rank Grinnell College highly?
There’s a low number of students at the school so you can get one-on-one learning.
Everyone I’ve spoken with at Grinnell or seen on TikTok said “You’re there for a reason, you’re there to learn, and students who are there also love to learn.” I love learning and if I’m around people who love to learn that’s going to motivate me more.
What do you want to study in college?
I want to major in biochemistry with a focus in pre-med and minor in dance.
Dance seems to be a big part of your life. What role has it played in your academics?
Dance is great because automatically you have to be disciplined or it will teach you very quickly to be disciplined, to be on time. In dance you have to be 15 minutes early — if you’re on time you’re late.
You have to trust yourself.
What was it like being in school during the pandemic?
When we first shifted home during COVID, a lot of us weren’t doing our work because there weren’t teachers breathing down our neck. Going into my sophomore year when we were back in school and didn’t have to wear masks was kind of a hard transition. During COVID a lot of students procrastinated.
But now being back in the school building, I’ve gotten more help from teachers and I think I’ve grown. A lot of my friends too, we’ve gotten more focused.
Did you face other obstacles during high school?
During my junior and the beginning of my senior year I was homeless. My mom at the time was dealing with mental health problems.
Being able to come to school and see all my teachers was really nice because they were understanding and able to work with me. I thank them a lot for that. If I weren’t at a school like Morris Jeff I probably wouldn’t have been able to get the help that I got.
Do you have any advice for other students who are dealing with adversity?
School can be used as a tool of distraction for whatever you’re going through and as a coping mechanism. And (it) can open more roads of success to you.
Whatever hardship you’re going through outside of school or at home, that doesn’t reflect your future.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
News Tips:
nolanewstips@theadvocate.com
Other questions:
subscriberservices@theadvocate.com
Need help?
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:

source