KIPP Blytheville’s inaugural class prepares to graduate

KIPP Blytheville Collegiate High School’s inaugural Class of 2018 will walk across the stage on Friday night to accept their diplomas and start a new educational journey.

KIPP Blytheville’s first graduating class has 36 students, including 17 of whom are founding members that attended as 5th graders when the school opened in 2010.

Those 36 students have been accepted by 270 colleges and have been offered $7.8 million in scholarships over a four-year period.

Three will be attending vocational schools; seven are headed to two-year colleges; and 26 will be at four-year institutions next fall in Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Vermont.

Anika Mittal is the valedictorian with several accomplishments already to her credit.

She scored a perfect 36 on her ACT exam, something only about .108 percent of test-takers achieve. Mittal is also one of just three Arkansans to be named U.S. Presidential Scholars.

She and classmate Kayla Perry have been selected as recipients of the 2018 Dave Goldberg Scholarship.

They are among 30 students who were selected from nearly 350 applicants nationwide to be part of this inaugural cohort of Goldberg Scholars.

Mittal plans to attend the University of Missouri- Kansas City. She is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Shalender Mittal of Blytheville.

Mittal’s scholarship offers totaled a whooping $1,170,000 or around 14 percent of KIPP’s total scholarship offers.

Meanwhile, four KIPP Blytheville seniors will attend the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville; one will go to Duke; and three are headed to Hendrix. Other schools KIPPsters will be attending include Bennington College in Vermont, Berea College, Arkansas State University-Beebe, Arkansas Northeastern College, Emory & Henry College, Fisk University, Arkansas State University-Newport, I.T.S. Academy of Beauty, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Arkansas Career Training Institute, Southeast Missouri State University, Arkansas Tech University and University of Central Arkansas.

“These students sacrificed a lot to be members of a founding class,” KIPP college advisor Sarah Dewey told the Blytheville Rotary Club on Thursday. “They had no one that could tell them that, yes, this works. Yes, KIPP is successful. We have schools across the country...they are loosely connected to us, but they had to be the ones to say ‘I’m going to take this chance.’ They lacked a lot of the traditions and sports teams and the things we see the bigger schools here doing. But on the flip side of that, now they are seeing the fruits of their labor.”

She noted KIPP has partnerships with more than 90 colleges across the country.

“Those partners agree to use a holistic approach when reviewing our students,” Dewey said. “So beyond numbers, what do their recommendations look like, their essays. They also agree, to varying levels, to make college more affordable.”

Duke and Bennington are two of those national partners, while KIPP also has regional partners in UAPB, Ouchita Baptist, Arkansas and Hendrix College.

During their junior year, KIPP students make a wish list of colleges and Dewey pours over data to categorize them into schools they will likely get accepted into; target schools where freshmen have similar scores as they do; and reach schools.

As juniors they develop that wish list, write essays and might visit a school.

By August of their senior year, KIPP students apply to college and do so through Nov. 30.

If students apply for eight scholarships, they qualify to access KIPP’s emergency funds their freshman year in college. That money could be used for an unexpected flight home, unanticipated book prices, etc. Thus far, 12 KIPPsters have applied for eight scholarships, according to Dewey.

Along with Dewey, several KIPP seniors spoke to the Rotary Club about their upcoming plans.

Tavien Morris will be going to Duke University.

“I want to create my own major, combining anthropology and biology,” Morris said. “What I’m excited about is walking onto the Duke campus and realizing that this is where I’m at. What I’m worried about, though, is the people are lot wealthier than me and probably smarter than me. That’s the only thing I’m worried about, comparing myself (to other students).”

A talented artist, Rashad Veasley will attend the University of Arkansas to pursue his passion — fine arts.

He said he is a little nervous about the workload but is excited about the opportunity.

In the fall, Dewhon Priget will be at Hendrix College in Conway.

Priget said he is excited about experiencing college life but nervous about being on his own and away from family and friends.

Greg Robinson and classmate Ashely Edwin will be moving the farthest away to Bennington College in Vermont.

Robinson, who will study computer science, said he is excited but nervous about the transition from high school work to college.

When asked why he is going to Vermont, Robinson quipped, “me and my friend Ashely, I just wanted to get super far away.”

Destinee Terry is headed to Fisk, where she will study biology in hopes of becoming an anesthesiologist or OB-GYN.

She is excited about meeting new people and new experiences, though nervous about venturing off and being on her own.

Fredaysia Estell will also major in biology at Hendrix and plans to become an OB-GYM.

She is excited about being on her own and nervous about the workload.

“I am so incredibly proud of the founding class of KIPP Blytheville,” KIPP Blytheville founder Maisie Wright said. “There is something that is incredibly unique about founders — as they help build something out of nothing. Eight years ago, many of them first came up to the school to do their first commitment meetings. We didn't yet have a full office or furniture in the classrooms, and yet, they believed in the power of education and that through hard work, they could make it to college. Here they are — all having been accepted to college with millions of dollars of scholarships — proving what is possible. When many people doubted them or doubted the school, they stuck with it. Their perseverance is unparalleled and I know this will lead to their success as they continue their journeys through college.” 

“The Class of 2018 is a unique group of individuals who have become an incredibly tight-knit group over the past eight years. Now they head off to college across the country and across Arkansas,” she continued. “They will explore many different majors from art to biology. In doing so, they will continue to trail-blaze for all future KIPPsters and for everyone within the Blytheville communities.”