This Delaware County high school student is getting a full ride to Princeton University
A high school senior in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, is getting the opportunity of a lifetime.
Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast Catholic High School student Kristen Ogogo is getting a full ride to Princeton University through QuestBridge, a program that supports high-achieving students from underserved communities.
Out of more than 25,000 applicants, Ogogo was among 2,627 students to match with a prestigious university.
"This has been a long time coming, and it's finally here," Ogogo said after commencement Wednesday morning. "I'm so glad I get to spend this joyous moment with my class."
Raised by a single mother from Kenya, Ogogo knows the value of hard work and sacrifice. The 18-year-old salutatorian plans to study molecular biology in hopes of becoming an oncologist after losing her eighth-grade teacher, Sue Masciantonio, to pancreatic cancer.
"She was a big catalyst for all of my determination, all my motivation to have now, and after her passing, it only fueled me to strive harder," Ogogo said.
Masciantonio's sister, Maureen Pearlingi, came to graduation to show her support.
"For Kristen to use her talents, to want to take her talents, and improve the medical world, especially when it comes to cancer, to me is just a tribute to what my sister meant to her," Pearlingi said.
Reaching this point wasn't easy. Ogogo said she wouldn't have been able to attend Bonner Prendie had it not been for the generosity of donors who helped cover her tuition.
"We're sad to see her go, but we're very fortunate she has high endeavors," Andrea Ciliberti, assistant principal of academic affairs at Bonner Prendie, said. "She's going to reach those dreams."
Amid the celebration, Ogogo is grateful to all the people who helped her along the way.
"If it weren't for my mom coming here at 19 years old with only $15 in her pocket, she would not have been able to make a way for her two children to live the American dream," Ogogo said.
It's a dream she'll continue chasing as she begins the next chapter of her life.
"I am so proud of Kristen," Ruth Okello, Ogogo's mother, said. "It's beyond what I can describe."
