Park Center Senior Earns Full-Ride Scholarship to Stanford University
A Park Center senior has a lot going for her, now including a scholarship to a prestigious university next year. Meria Pha is a full International Baccalaureate student with her eyes on the future.
Pha is taking an IB History class, which covers a wide range of topics where they look back on and learn from the past.
For many, history is making their futures possible. Pha takes a lot from her teachers, but she thinks she gives them something back.
“I feel like I can learn a lot from them, but also, at the same time, they can learn a lot from me,” Pha said.
Pha works with a group in her IB History class at Park Center High School.
Something New
Pha feels she has a lot to thank Park Center for. She’s enrolled in IB classes, met a diverse range of people and most recently found a path to a prestigious university.
“So the news is, I got a full ride into Stanford University next fall!” Pha said excitedly.
She got in through QuestBridge, a scholarship program for high-achieving students with low-income backgrounds. Pha said attending Stanford wouldn’t be possible without this scholarship.
“I was able to do that for my family. They don’t have to pay as much for me,” Pha said.
She said she and her family were surprised and excited to learn she got in. Her teachers, however, weren’t so shocked.
As a full IB student, Pha will receive an IB diploma at the end of the year. She’s also involved in tennis, model UN and competitive speech.
High Potential
Two of the teachers who wrote her letters of recommendation saw her potential.
“I knew she could do it,” said Debbie Purnich, her IB math teacher. “I looked at the list, and I was like ‘wow, there’s a lot of prestigious schools on here,’ and to be matched with your top choice is amazing.”
Purnich said she’s seen Pha challenge herself academically and engage with her peers in an inclusive way.
“She’s just an amazing human being, and somebody that I know is going to do amazing things with her life,” Purnich said. “Her life is just beginning.”
Her IB literature teacher, Mandy Vaughn, pushed Pha to apply.
“Meria is humble, prepared, driven, really kind, a helper, a leader. She is just an exemplary student and human,” Vaughn said.
Though Purnich and Vaughn played a role in Pha’s application, they said the work was all hers.
“She’s somebody that I will always remember,” Vaughn said.
But Pha points the credit back to those who lifted her up in her education and beyond. Soon, it will be time for her to spread her wings.
“Since it’s senior year, I’ve been thinking back on how I’ve grown, and how this school has helped me grow,” Pha said. “I’ve been here my whole life. I think I just want to expand and grow somewhere far away from my family.”
Meria plans to study English at Stanford.
If you know an interested student, more details about the QuestBridge program are available on its website.
Park Center Senior High School
