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Black girls do, indeed, rock.

And Chicago high school student Arianna Alexander is no exception. In fact, she’s rocking her $3 million worth of scholarships all the way to college.

Arianna, the Kenwood Academy High School student who graduated valedictorian of her class, is making headlines for an amazing feat — the teenager was accepted into 26 colleges and has been awarded a number of scholarships that, combined, amount to $3 million.

And with a grade point average of 5.1 out of 4.0, it’s no surprise that the deserving teenager doesn’t have to pay a dime for college.

“I feel like it means I can afford college and I don’t have to worry about it. I feel like that’s an issue for a lot of people my age,” she told ABC Chicago’s WLS. Her father encouraged her, after another Kenwood student was offered more than $1 million in scholarships a few years ago.

“I planted the seed in Arianna’s mind that you can do the same thing. So when the process got started and a million was achieved, let’s go for two. I said let’s go for three and she did it,” said Pierre Alexander, Arianna’s father.

“It was a big blessing, because I’ve already put three through college. Now I don’t have to worry too much about her,” Pierre said.

And though she was “bombarded,” as she describes it, by acceptance letters and emails from schools, Arianna has made her decision. She will attend the University of Pennsylvania, a choice she made based on advice given to her by one of her teachers, Paul Brush.

“He said, ‘Do you know about the Wharton School of Business?’ I said, ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’” Arianna said.

“As teachers, we have a big moment to play with the lives that we have in our classrooms,” Brush said.

But with the attention Arianna is getting for her success in high school, her father doesn’t want her to forget that there’s still work to be done, telling WLS that her graduation from college will be her second goal. “We expect bigger and better things for her,” he said.

We’re sure to see it. Not only has she picked her college of choice, she also knows exactly what she wants to do. Arianna told the news station she plans to be an entrepreneur and restaurateur, so we’ll definitely be on the lookout for the four restaurants she hopes to open in the future.

Congratulations again, Arianna. We wish you the very best.

SOURCE: WLS | PHOTO CREDIT: Twitter

 

Chicago High School Student Accepted To 26 Universities, Awarded $3 Million In Scholarships  was originally published on newsone.com