Acceptances are hitting inboxes for the class of 2026! This year, the majority of our 137 seniors submitted applications for early action or early decision, improving their chances of earning admission and receiving robust financial aid packages. This impressive feat — which meant starting the school year early and spending countless hours preparing for the SAT, revising personal statements, and drafting essay supplements — has paid off. So far, 70% of SA seniors have been accepted to college. We’re too excited to wait until graduation, so here’s a sneak peek at some of our seniors’ college decisions. Congratulations!
Even in a senior class full of impressive leaders, Wuraola stands out. Throughout her time in high school, she has helped create platforms for creative expression and cultural celebration, playing a key role in community building for her peers. She is president and founder of HSLA’s first Afrobeat Dance Club, which has become a beloved cultural institution at the high school and, this year, she’s also president of the entirely student-produced Root Awakening show, a powerful celebration of diversity, cultural heritage, and scholar talent. Proud of her Nigerian roots, Wuraola is passionate about showing other students how they can embrace their identities, no matter how complex. She’s a member and former captain of the OT3 dance team, a member of the Senior Committee, served as an SA No Adults Needed (SA-NAN) tutor, and a founding member of the HSLA Scholar Advisory Committee. When it comes to student advocacy and engagement, Wuraola is always front and center. After attending Columbia University’s Emerging Climate Leaders workshop, she has her sights set on becoming an environmental engineer or a robotics engineer.
For Bridget, thinking outside the box is second nature. This gift came in handy during the summer before her senior year, when she participated in the prestigious St. Alban’s School of Public Service summer program through SA Summer Experience. Thanks to Bridget’s clever approach and stellar research skills, her team was the only one to leverage real Supreme Court rulings to build a case in the program’s mock trial. Outside of the (mock) courtroom, Bridget is a valuable member of her school community, having served as secretary of Sophomore Student Council, a member of the Senior Committee, and a peer math tutor. Bridget’s inventiveness and analytical capabilities will serve her well at Northeastern, where she plans on majoring in political science and journalism.
Andrew is the president of SA HSLA-MA’s Student Council, but that’s just the beginning of a long list of leadership roles he’s held throughout his time at Success Academy. Always one to problem solve, try new things, and challenge himself, Andrew has helped lead his chess team to victories, acted as the lead performer in multiple school productions, and attended two business and entrepreneurial Summer Experience programs — one at Columbia University and one at Stanford University. Andrew is also an excellent student, scoring 4s on both the AP World History and AP Art History exams, but more than anything, he’s an aspiring entrepreneur who wants to leverage international markets for positive change. Andrew plans to study international business and history, and was accepted into the Beyond Boundaries program.
Cheyenne is an open-minded, community-focused leader. As captain of the SA HSLA-Manhattan Volleyball Team, she works hard to improve her technical skills and cultivate a strong team dynamic. Off the court, Cheyenne also enjoys a good challenge, which is why she excelled as an SA Columbia Edge Fellow and an SA NYU Pre-College Fellow as well as an SA Summer Experience Fellow two summers in a row (Choate Rosemary Hall in 2020 and Smith College Science and Engineering Program in 2021). She also distinguished herself as an AP Scholar with honors, scoring high on the Calculus AB, Macroeconomics, English Literature & Composition, and Modern World History exams. This fall, Cheyenne will attend Yale University, where she will continue to uncover the hidden histories of the world, including her own identity as an African-American and Ghanaian woman. She also looks forward to growing her circle of close friends at college, where she will likely study social sciences.
Banel is a fierce human rights and social justice advocate, with plans to represent victims of human rights violations and improve laws and systems of oppression on a local and global level. She has already made progress on this in high school, gathering signatures for a petition for Elijah McClain and attending Cornell University’s three-week International Human Rights program as an SA Summer Experience Fellow, where she acted as a human rights advocate, examined human rights issues, and earned college credits. Banel also dedicates time to helping others in the SA community, acting as the Chief Marketing Officer of the popular SA No Adults Needed (SA-NAN) tutoring program and captaining the school’s OT3 dance team. She is also a Thrasio Entrepreneurship Fellow, an honor indicative of her ability to merge passion with creativity and innovative ideas. Banel is interested in majoring in International Relations and Political Studies at Boston University.
Alvaro has spent most of his high school career ensuring that scholars feel welcomed, supported, and part of a community. After successfully mentoring a freshman when he was in eleventh grade, Alvaro was asked to lead SA’s first official Mentoring Club, recruiting thirty other outstanding and caring scholars to guide younger students. Alvaro serves on the school’s Senior Committee and is a host for SA HSLA-MA’s morning show, Hawkeye TV. Driven by a strong moral compass, Alvaro took a course in ethics at Georgetown as part of SA’s Summer Experience program, and is also an active volunteer in his community outside of school. He plans to pursue studies in business and marketing so that he can continue to find and promote innovative ways to help the world.
Sneha is committed to eradicating injustice and supporting her community, from fundraising to support a classmate’s cancer treatment to tutoring younger scholars in challenging home situations. Her list of accomplishments at Success Academy is long and varied: In addition to participating in SA Summer Experience three summers in a row, Sneha was a Sotheby’s Chatsworth fellow, college cohort captain, teacher’s assistant for six classes across academic disciplines, Chief Operations Officer for SA-NAN, and a member of student government. She has no plans to slow down at Rice! She looks forward to majoring in chemistry and progressing in classical and contemporary Indian dance.
At SA, Laisha is known as an engineering wiz: She was the only participant in her summer Bluestamp Engineering program to build a functioning voice-controlled robot and she’s already enrolled in a computer science course through Georgia Tech. But her goals extend beyond writing code — she wants to change the face of STEM, a field where women of color are significantly underrepresented. At Smith, she hopes to build the foundation she’ll need to do just that.
Emely is proudly bilingual in Spanish and English, and was drawn to Haverford because of its inclusive community on campus. In fact, Emely is an expert at bringing people together on important issues and common interests: she founded the Hidden History Book Club and co-founded the SA-Raising Awareness Mental Health Club. Emely is a Humanities Academy scholar, focusing on AP Art History, but she’s also a STEM student and held the role of teaching assistant for a Principles of Physics class. She plans to study Economics and Computer Science at Haverford.
Kevin is a service-oriented leader, an incisive chess player, and the proud son of Ghanaian immigrants. He is incredibly active in his community, spearheading service projects with his church youth group and tutoring his peers and family members in his free time. Since he is so gifted at helping others, Kevin was selected by the College Board as a Summer Strategies Academy Scholar for a large-scale research project designed to build the skills of high school students across the nation. He looks forward to attending Lehigh University in the fall, where he will continue to learn about the world around him as a biochemistry and/or biology major.
Emily is a gifted communicator — she won the HSLA AP Literature Award for excellence in writing, after all — and she is always asking questions and digging deeper to find solutions. As an SA HSLA Summer Experience Fellow at Columbia University’s Emerging Climate Leaders program, she explored the impact of climate change on minority communities, using her voice to advocate for mental health services to support these marginalized groups. She also served as an ambassador for Food Bank NYC, where she spread information and awareness about New York’s food distribution and waste to create a better system. Emily’s passions are diverse, from film studies to biology and genetic science, and she plans to pursue them all at Emory University.
Hannah aspires to become a social entrepreneur — but in her words, with the “business know-how” to make lasting change. When her school had to switch to remote learning due to the pandemic, she quickly recognized the need to support younger students and founded SA No-Adults Needed, the first peer-to-peer tutoring service at our schools. She won the Tharasio Entrepreneurship Competition, but generating ideas isn’t the only thing she’s good at — she can also put together a rock-solid argument and was the winner of the Harvard Debate Summer Council Tournament. Hannah is a STEM Academy Honors scholar and plans to major in economics so she can better leverage data science for sustainable changemaking.
Fervelyn is an outstanding student — as a STEM Academy Honors scholar, she has excelled in some of the most challenging courses on offer at SA’s high schools. For Fervelyn, having a positive impact is just as important as passing multiple AP exams and earning an eye-catching grade point average. She’s the vice president and secretary of the school’s Mental Health Club, has served as an SA-NAN tutor, and is co-founder and vice president of her school’s first Foreign Language Club. Fervelyn is still exploring possible career paths — she’s considering becoming a pediatrician — but knows she’s interested in studying sociology or pre-med at Swarthmore.
Ivanna is a creative, grounded trailblazer. As the daughter of a Honduran immigrant, Ivanna speaks fluent Spanish. She is also an integral member of HSLA Conservatory Dance Company. She brings that same passion and artfulness to the successful independent nail business she started, which serves over 20 clients a week. She plans to take this business savvy to the next level at Colgate University, where she plans to study business, public health, or nursing.
Chyna frequently uplifts and inspires others through her creative endeavors and community involvement. She is a dancer and photographer, and as a Chatsworth Program alumna, she even dabbled in drama when she performed a play for the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. She loves sharing what she knows with others, which is why she was honored to speak about art at the Sotheby’s Dinner and Hudson Yards Art History Event with Vice Chairman Simon Shaw of Sotheby’s. Chyna looks forward to embracing the sisterhood within the Black community at Spelman College, where she will study nursing, health sciences, and business in her endeavor to become a future nurse or entrepreneur.
