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Updated: January 19, 2025 @ 6:17 am
Mankato West High School social studies teacher Matt Moore, scholarship recipient Anna Pho and Principal Sherri Blasing at West. Pho was selected out of 25,000 applicants for the QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship.
Mankato West High School social studies teacher Matt Moore, scholarship recipient Anna Pho and Principal Sherri Blasing at West. Pho was selected out of 25,000 applicants for the QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship.
MANKATO — After being selected from a pool of about 25,000 applicants from across the country, Mankato West High School senior Anna Pho is grateful and humble in how she describes what it’s like to be a 2024 QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship recipient.
Her mom, she said, has inspired her the most.
“My mother, she’s an engineer actually. She immigrated here a lot younger than my dad did. My dad came over here when they were married in about their late 20s,” she said of her parents, who came here from Vietnam.
Pho said she used part of her application essays to talk about how her mother got her interested in STEM.
“I talked about (my mom’s) journey and how she is not only an immigrant, she not only had to face so many different struggles, but she’s also in a predominately male field, and she also struggled with language barriers even though she did come here when she was younger.
“When I was younger, she would often have to bring home some of her projects.”
The scholarship program works to connect students with scholarships to about 50 of the nation’s top colleges.
Candidates can list their choices, then the program matches them with the best fit.
Nearly 7,500 finalists later, Pho will now attend Barnard College in New York City on a full ride.
With a background as a certified nursing assistant, Pho said she initially indicated neuroscience as her first choice for a major on her application.
“I work with a lot of people who have dementia and memory disorder, and so I was really interested in the research side of things. That is also what kind of made me realize that I didn’t want to do pre-med as I was initially inclined to do. I’m a lot more interested in the research side,” she said, adding she’s worked at memory care facilities in Mankato.
But the future is still hers to write, and she’s considering other options.
“I’m attempting to think more broadly, especially because I don’t have to decide my major my first year, and biochemistry was my second option because it is still medicine. There’s so many different pathways you can go into medicine. It’s a little bit crazy.”
Pho said she also used her application to talk about how she wanted to make an impact on people with neurodegenerative diseases.
“I witnessed the impacts of it myself and I was able to help people that were impacted by it. I saw what it was like living out the last moments of your life while you are going under such a disease.”
Pho said she was also inspired to write about her mom in her essays because Barnard, which partners with Columbia University, is a women’s college.
“I’m really happy with the result. After thinking it through, I realized the school was actually a really great fit for me, and I’m really glad that I ended up having to go there.”
Pho has also received other QuestBridge recognitions, including the Quest for Excellence STEM award, where she received a $1,000 prize to use toward her education.
Pho’s junior year social studies teacher, Matt Moore, encouraged her to apply for the scholarship. He described Pho as someone who is passionate about her education.
“She just checks all the boxes. She’s being quite humble here, but these are like the most selective universities in our country who are very, very, very picky about the type of students that they’re going to take on here, so this is an incredibly competitive program,” he said.
West has had one previous winner and another finalist.
Principal Sherri Blasing said Pho is an amazing young woman and gave credit to teachers like Moore who help students find these opportunities.
“That’s where all the magic happens is with the teachers and the students,” she said.
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