One of Athens Drive’s highest achievers is Sarah Raynor. Along with being a starter for the women’s varsity basketball team at Athens, Raynor will be graduating early with a 4.2 GPA and has already been accepted to three colleges. Raynors leading example is inspiring to students in her community.
So far, Raynor has gotten into UNC Asheville, UNC Greensboro, UNC Wilmington, and UNC Charlotte, and is waiting for a letter from UNC Chapel Hill. UNC Wilmington has an acceptance rate of 68%, showing that Raynor’s acceptance was not just luck. Raynor has worked hard to keep her GPA at a summa cum laude proficiency throughout high school, she has shown this in her Pre-Calculus class.
“Even in the midst of the craziness of basketball season, she prioritized being a student first and foremost and, through her hard work, was able to not only succeed but excel in Precalculus last year,” said math Teacher Taylor Cesarski.
Raynor is also involved in outside school activities including basketball, NHS, and work. Raynor has been working consistently since her freshman year, 25 hours a week every summer. She shows effort, spirit, and determination, all traits that colleges are looking for. The activities show her drive for learning, and ability to have a “growth mindset”.
according to CollegeData, 9 personality and character traits colleges look for in applicants, “Colleges want to see that you are passionate about learning – not just about a single academic area, but about the world around you.”
College essays are a big part of getting into college, they show your personality, your story; it’s not just numbers and statistics. Raynor is extremely proud of her essay, she included her personal story and hardships that she has faced, and how that, in return, pushed her to graduate early and apply to colleges.
Despite Raynor’s involvement in school, she’s always disliked the niche environment. She craves more excitement, wants to be around like-minded positive people, and is striving to learn a lot more in college. This has been the main drive for her wanting to graduate high school and move on to bigger things.
“I’ve kind of always been bored and I hate the atmosphere of high school because it’s been toxic, so I’ve been wanting to get out of that as soon as I can,” said Raynor.
Raynor believes in hard work, she believes that what you put in is what you get out. High school is all about being involved, taking classes that you’re interested in that will keep you at your desired grade point average (GPA) and give you a whole three to four years of learning experience to prepare you for college.
“I would say work hard in your classes because GPA is a big thing colleges look at. Take on what you know you can handle, and know that you can achieve what you want as long as you’re willing to work for it,” said Raynor.
