By VICTORIA LASKER
Special to the Herald Times
MEEKER | “Never choose the easier path in life, you will only find true victory through working hard through everything that is handed to you. Take a challenge, aspire to achieve every goal you set, never lose hope that greatness is down the road, but will only be achieved by your blood sweat, and hard work.”
Wise words from Meeker High School senior Josephine Drussell, who this fall will attend the University of Virginia to major in chemistry and economic sciences. Leading up to this accomplishment, Drussell has maintained a 4.0 GPA all four years of her high school career, taking and completing many rigorous courses and nearly acing her ACT with a score of 30 out of 36 possible points. Drussell’s hard work was rewarded with her receipt of the Questbridge scholarship— a merit scholarship that more than 15,000 students applied for nationwide. Nearly 5,000 of the original applicants make it to the semifinals, where the top 900 students (about 6 percent of the original number) will be matched to any university of their choice in the Questbridge partnership.
“I worked for hours and hours before and after school, meeting with several of my teachers and superiors for a scholarship I wasn’t sure I would even get,” said Drussell.
After attending at the University of Virginia, Drussell plans to get her doctoral degree in cardiovascular surgery. “Thanks to the Questbridge scholarship I’ll be able to save for medical school and I’ve been shown that hard work, dedication and trust in teachers and peers will help you in the long run.”