A 16-year-old African American girl named Alanah Poullard has been awarded 1 million dollar worth of scholarships to 60 universities across the United States.
Alanah, a Jennings teen and a second-year student at Midland High School, United States earned acceptance to 60 universities and colleges across the United States with scholarships totaling over a million naira.
She earned enough credits and completed enough courses to finish high school two years earlier than her classmates including having a 3,80 grade point average. Alanah said she started applying to more than 100 colleges during her freshman year of high school, but never imagined she would get so many responses.
“I never thought in a million years I would have gotten into 60 colleges. It’s still hard for me to believe that I am graduating, but I know that I worked hard for it and I deserve it,” she said.
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At just 16 years old, Alanah has achieved a remarkable amount of success. Her accomplishments speak volumes about her determination, talent, and dedication.
At the age of 5, she made local and national news when she asked former President Barack Obama to write an excuse note to her teacher after she missed school to attend a Wounded Warriors program at the White House with her parents Obama wrote the note.
In 2022, Alan who was 14 years then was accepted into a two-week summer medical internship at the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine where she learned to perform an aortic valve replacement on a porcine heart. She was the youngest and only student from her state to attend the internship.
Alana credits her success to her late father, Rev. Dr. Stacy Poullard stating that her father motivated her and showed her the path to becoming a doctor.
“I wouldn’t be where I am now, if it weren’t for him pushing me. He has done anything and everything he could to put me on this path to becoming a doctor and completing my education,”’ she said.
Alanah’s mother, Yolanda, who is a retired United States Army major who served in Afghanistan and Iraq said she hopes her daughter never loses track of who she is. She added that she’s glad that Alanah is following the path her father instilled in her.
“She struggled after losing her Dad, but she stayed focused on the path that he had instilled in her with education. I constantly tell her in life you cannot forget your humble beginnings and to help others,” Yolanda said.
”I think if she sticks to that and keeps God in her life, she will be successful. She’ll be that Dr. Alanah Poullard one day,” she added.
Advising students to follow in her footsteps, Alanah said they should not allow their grades to define them adding that should invest in contributing to their community and also do a part-time job.
“Don’t let grades and ACT scores define you because you can work hard to get it up, but when you submit those college applications, yes the consider those things, but they also consider how you helped your community and what you’ve done in your spare time,” she said.
“Join as many clubs as you can, do community service, pick up a part-time job, that all looks good on your application and says a lot about you as a person,” she added.
She currently works at a daycare, does a monthly clothing and hygiene giveaway at her church, and has an active YouTube channel. While in school she was involved in the National Beta Club, National Association of High School Scholars, drama club, student council, volleyball, cheer, dance, tennis, and swimming.
Alanah said she plans to enroll in Louisiana State University to major in microbiology as she plans to become a surgeon. She stated that being a doctor is something she has always wanted to do since declaring she wanted to be a pediatrician in kindergarten.
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