An 18-year-old senior at Springfield High School of Science and Technology in Massachusetts, Roberta Hannah, has made history after being admitted into all 8 Ivy League schools.
The surprising news came amid the coronavirus pandemic, which unexpectedly altered the course of events for the Class of 2020. Despite this, she had a reason to celebrate.
Hannah, a student-athlete who plays track and field, said it was not easy to achieve what she did. But she worked hard and took honours and AP classes to prepare for it. She is currently preparing for seven AP exams.
Hannah said she initially wanted to apply to just three schools, but her mother and sister encouraged her to apply to all eight Ivy League schools. She did so without much expectation and thought she would only be accepted into four, but she was admitted into all eight.
“I was really anxious getting up to the day, and then I started opening the letters, and I was like, ‘oh, I keep seeing ‘yes,’” she told Western Mass News.
Hannah is grateful for her sister and mother, who motivated her to achieve more. Her mother, Valerie Williams, could not attend college, but she pushed her children “a little extra hard” to have the opportunity she didn’t have before.
Of all the Ivy League schools she could choose, Hannah plans to attend Columbia University and major in biochemistry and African-American studies.
“So my goal is to be a medicinal chemist, but with making medicine and kind of the one researching it,” she said. “I want my focus to be increasing accessibility and making the medicine more affordable.”
