Attending an Ivy League school is an aspiration of many students. Competition is intense especially in recent years and the acceptance rate is usually below 10% in the most selective of the Ivies like Harvard University. During a recent Science Fair that my grandson, DJ, was a Grand Prize nominee, there was a young Asian high school senior who won the Grand Prize for research he did on the effect of zinc on certain types of cancer. He was waiting to hear from a couple of the Ivies and mentioned how difficult it was to get accepted at Harvard. A perfect score in the SAT, an excellent GPA and multiple extra-curricular activities will still not give an applicant an edge. What they are looking for are students who have a passion for some subject or have achieved success despite extraordinary odds.
Dawn Loggins at her high school graduation
It was gratifying and inspiring to read about Dawn Loggins, a young lady from North Carolina, who overcame extraordinary odds to achieve academic success. It made the national news in the US shown in the Youtube video below. Her story is an remarkable testament to the perseverance of a young lady who achieved tremendous success against all odds. It is also a testament to the generosity and fundamental goodness of people who took it upon themselves to offer Dawn an opportunity by supporting her in a way that can only happen in a community that feels an obligation to help a deserving individual who through no fault of hers was left homeless.
The video below is from the national news aired a couple of days ago:
It was also covered by CNN in the video below:
The full story was covered in the local “Shelby Star” in four parts:
Tags: Dawn Loggins, from homeless to Harvard University, Shelby Star article about Dawn Loggins
