Miami Norland Senior High’s valedictorian is set to graduate next Wednesday with more than $2.5 million in scholarship offers under her belt.
DeJaya Hardy, the Miami Gardens teen, who earned a 5.3 GPA through dual enrollment and Cambridge courses, has accepted a full ride to the University of Florida.
A scholar with big dreams and a strategic plan
Hardy, who plans to pursue a career in public relations and dreams of working for major companies like Apple, Microsoft, or Google, says she began applying for scholarships in 11th grade—eventually submitting over 100 applications, all on her own.
Hardy explained, “For instance, some are low income, some might be for this race or that race, but I say still apply to the ones that you know you can apply for and sometimes you never know. There may be scholarships that no one has applied for, so just apply to everything that you see because you never know what opportunities are out there for you.”…