As MCHS senior Emily Gahgan enjoys being in the running for a $20,000 scholarship from the Coca-Cola Foundation, she wants other students to know that they shouldn’t be afraid to aim high and talk about their accomplishments.
Emily is among 1,609 semifinalists nationwide for the $20,000 scholarships. Ultimately, 150 students will be awarded.
She was selected from more than 99,000 applications, and is awaiting to hear if she’s one of 250 selected for an interview. Gahgan said she heard about the scholarship program through the MCHS postsecondary resources page in Schoology, and applied through the Coca-Cola Foundation’s website.
She encourages other students to set high goals for themselves, too.
“I never thought I would be part of the 1.6 percent of the semifinalists but i gave it my all and went for it,” she said. “And look where it got me.”
Her essay focused on answering questions about her role model, her leadership experience and things she’d like to change in the world. Gahgan is active in school through the student council, National Honor Society and the Student Leadership Team. She also volunteers with her church, St. Patrick.
Gahgan said being humble is a good trait to have but she encouraged other students to let that go a little when applying for scholarships.
“Scholarships and college applications are not the places you want to be humble,” she said. “It isn’t rude to be proud of yourself.”
Gahgan has a goal to be an orthopedic surgeon, and is planning to study biology at either University or Illinois at Chicago or Loyola University.