Many of us moms associate college acceptance season with being glued to the phone and asking whichever parent answered, “Is the envelope thick or thin?” and celebrating or suffering based on the answer. All that stress was before we even started thinking about what was going on with our FAFSA.
Some kids, though, really have it all together. High school senior Daya Brown definitely has something to celebrate … 50 times over. The 18-year-old Atlanta native has been accepted into 50 colleges and universities, and received more than $1.3 million in scholarships.
The accomplishment wasn't magic.
Brown credits scheduling and putting in the work for her success. The Westlake High School student told Good Morning America that student loans weren’t part of her plan and that she was just “making sure that I had options for my parents to really sit back and relax.”
She calls the scholarship funds a "gift" to all of them.
She started searching early.
While in quarantine during her sophomore year, she narrowed down a list of schools offering specific majors and those excelling in mass communications or film. “So once I had that list, it all came down to doing those extracurricular activities, because I think a lot of the times students don't understand that you have to be more than just a student,” she explained.
Poetry, film, and writing were the main focuses of the multi-passionate student’s activities. Brown then fused those passions and created her own production company called Elom & Co. Productions.
Smart is the new cool.
The young founder and CEO shared with Good Morning America that her production company which focuses on emerging creators, is how she “I found a way to showcase brilliance [and] still have fun.”
According to her interview with CanvasRebel, teen-led Elom & Co. produces spoken-word films and has a mission "to promote creative industries to young adults and teenagers for many years to come.”
The company is working on its first film and a documentary series called The Heart of the Matter, based on Brown’s soon-to-be published book of poetry.
It felt like home.
The burning question is out of 50 potential institutions in which to matriculate, where did she choose?
Brown told Good Morning America that Duke University gave her a sense of home. “I was welcomed by so many amazing Black students who look just like me, who have the same dreams and aspirations as me as well.”
No girl boss is an island.
Brown credits her "village" for showing up for her in support of her goals and dreams, sharing their life and career skills with her. Her pastor dad contributed to her public speaking skills, and her mom’s creativity spawned her own ability to imagine and execute plans, she said. Her grandmother, who makes all of Brown's gowns, has shared her artistry, and her brother reminds her to laugh.
Face your work with passion.
The future visual media studies major's recipe for success is “Do the work and do it with happiness.”
She cited late nights getting the work done to achieve her grades but said that working on what she loved made it less of a burden. “No, it wasn't easy. she shared. “I wake up every day, happy about what I do.”
