Seven Ivys accept Baldwin teen

Student overcomes obstacles to achieve college dreams

Posted

March 31 was a normal day for 18-year-old Daria Rose. The Baldwin resident and senior at Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead sat through classes, attended a prayer service and got something to eat before heading home. Once there, though, her day became anything but normal.

Daria went online and one-by-one discovered that she’d been accepted to the seven Ivy League colleges she applied to in the fall. “I still can’t believe it actually,” she said last week. “I’m so blessed.”

The one Ivy she didn’t apply to was Columbia, because she didn’t want to attend college in New York City. Her mom, Katrina, joked that Columbia wasn’t far enough away for Daria. “She said, ‘Mom, that’s too close, you’ll be dropping by every weekend.’”

Daria had to overcome a few obstacles before she was accepted to seven Ivy League schools.

She was born with the first obstacle, Katrina explained: a cleft palate, meaning that the roof of her mouth wasn’t fully formed. When she was 18 months old she had major reconstructive surgery and it was only after that she spoke her first word. Katrina and her husband, Desmond, were worried that she would be developmentally behind, but it wasn’t long before their worries were at ease.

Beginning in pre-K, Katrina said, Daria excelled. When she was 6 she would read books aimed for teenagers and dreamed of going to an Ivy League college. “I’ve just really loved learning and loved reading so that propelled me in school,” Daria said.

Daria continued to excel at St. Christopher’s School from kindergarten through eighth grade and then at Sacred Heart beginning in ninth grade. She’s part of several honor societies and clubs, has an average of 102.5, scored a 2260 on the SATs, tutors children at Hempstead Public Library, raised money for Operation Smile, an organization that repairs children’s cleft lips and palates, and works summers in the Town of Hempstead’s attorney’s office.

Page 1 / 3