Dana Bolden, a high school senior at Jim Hill High School in Jackson, Mississippi has secured over $1.4 million in college scholarships.
“Once school started, I just decided to go ahead and knock it out and start applying to a bunch of schools. I didn’t think that I would get to this point of $1.4 million in scholarships, but I’m very grateful that I am and I’m very grateful that I have the opportunity to get this far.”
Dana Bolden on Good Morning America
Bolden has so far applied to over 60 colleges and approximately 80 scholarship programs. She has already been accepted to 34 schools and hopes to hear from more schools in the future. Bolden was inspired to apply broadly by a fellow student who received more than $1 million in scholarships her sophomore year.
Not only does Bolden have an impressive 3.8 GPA, she is also a clarinetist in the school’s Marching Band, a student government member, and is active in speech and debate. She credits her resilience and success to mentors such as the school’s principal.
“I almost gave up. I tried to give up. I had so many people push me to be better and to do better, and I’m so grateful that I did, because without them, I would not have this. I have so many mentors who are very adamant on me being successful because they’ve been where I’ve been and they’ve made it, so they want me to be as successful as them because they know I can do it.”
Dana Bolden on Good Morning AmericaRelated stories
Remarkably, Bolden has received over $1.4 million in college scholarships only two months into her senior year of school year. Other high-achieving students normally reach over a million dollars in January.
Bolden’s dream school is Duke University. She plans to major in biology and pursue a career in medicine as a trauma surgeon. .
Jim Hill High School held an event to celebrate Bolden’s monumental scholarship feat. Students, teachers and staff came together to applaud her success.