July 8, 2025
The students wrote countless essays and negotiated with their accepted schools to reach this lofty number.
Nine diverse graduates of a Catholic high school in The Bronx have millions of reasons to feel proud.
This set of students at Cardinal Spellman Catholic High School each earned over $1 million in scholarships for their college acceptances. At first, people expressed shock and disbelief at the staggering fact, as shared by one of the school’s faculty members.
“Somebody actually called and argued with me that that was impossible,” said Dierdre Gibbons, the director of admissions at the Bronx high school, to the New York Post.
The extraordinary scholars have a wide range of colleges to choose from, including multiple Ivy League institutions. One of the nine wonders, Rehema Ojwang, thinks that their feat has inspired others to shoot for the highest stars. Ojwang, also her class salutatorian, plans to study politics as an incoming freshman at Princeton University.
“It kind of shows people that are just coming up and are about to find a college and are looking into their futures that this is really doable,” explained Ojwang, who was raised as a first-generation American to immigrant parents.
She advises current high schoolers to remain true to the hobbies and interests that matter to them. With this in mind, the co-ed affirmed that their passion will shine through applications.
She continued, “What you have to do is just stay passionate in the things that you do. You don’t have to start a business, and you don’t have to start a nonprofit, you don’t have to go to these heights. I think you just have to make sure that you are putting effort into the things that you like doing.”
The dynamic group of nine students includes Shakira Simo, Alyssa Rill, Gabrielle Henriques, Rehema Ojwang, Robert Hernandez, Akua Amponsah, Nina Gonzalez, Saniya Smith, and Kaylyn Little. As a united group, they wrote countless essays to build up their scholarship earnings.
“I think it’s really inspiring to accomplish something so big,” explained Simo. “It’s not something I really would have imagined when I was a freshman, sophomore, or even junior. I think just having grit and determination, persistence really gets you to that point.”
The students further extended their scholarship dollars by speaking directly with their top choices to negotiate higher aid. Now, the graduates will become part of the newest cohort of students from top colleges within New York and beyond.
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