By Violeta Panayotova
“Papump” is a sound that many hear daily, indicating their Discord notification. Whether it is a class reminder, a friend texting or an invite to hang out, it is always a thrill to find out more. However, for senior Sama Allam, the famous noise this summer indicated a new possible lesson to be learned from impressive individuals all part of a summer program.
This summer Sama was accepted to the Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America or also known as LEDA. The program is seven weeks long and encourages students that are first generation college students, low income students, or ethnic minority students to apply to top tier colleges and to learn the skills necessary to be leaders and take on challenges in life. The program is designed to provide the resources many of those students lack.
The program gave Sama a variety of opportunities, however we must start from the beginning. She says that the very first time she heard about LEDA was through a flyer handed to her by Mrs. Moffitt. Unlike many flyers this one stood out to Sama with its incredible statistic that 86 percent of all LEDA scholars attend the top schools. This sparked Sama’s interest as she explains that “I have always wanted to go to these colleges. I want to be one of those people.”
As she started the application process, she faced a variety of topics that challenged her and asked her to explore more of given topics. The application has two parts with the first one being answering questions about your extracurricular activities. However, these questions are the small part that is the application.
As part of the writing process students are asked to submit their own writing on a topic that concerns them and they wish to fix. Sama was inspired by a different program she has attended and decided to use her knowledge on the topic of homelessness to get benefit in the LEDA essay. She explains that although it is something difficult to think of a topic, we should stay true to ourselves and find the similarities within.
Her suggestion to really expand your point in the short response is to use statistics and show that you really care about the topic and it does impact you one way or another. All of these big picture questions lead to the ultimate experience. The 7 weeks spent at Princeton University provided Sama an experience like no other. Although online this year due to the pandemic, the students found a way to make their experience just as amazing as it would have been in real life. The programs include a variety of classes focusing on tutoring on how to improve your resume and stand out to those elite colleges. Sama took these classes and was challenged in a variety of ways from writing special emotional arguments to SAT classes.
The program also provided her with an incredible opportunity to create a community impact project. Throughout the program with the help of her mentors, she recognized a problem in her community and created a plan to resolve it. In her group, they discussed the problem of women in STEM and lack thereof and started creating solutions.
The motto of LEDA is “LEDA for life” which means that not only will Sama get help and coaching in her college admission process but also finding a job and graduate school.
At the end of the day she took away the most important goal of the program which is the community. She says “It taught me how to seem like a better applicant and how to research schools as well.”
The process of picking the right college is difficult, however she realized that “It is not about the prestige, it is about the school that has the best program for your major.” Her exploration on how to help the community and be a productive member is another pillar she is proud to uphold.
Her friends from the program brought another positive experience. Her Discord continues to blow up with scholars waking up in Alaska when owners are going to sleep in New York. And just like the endless messages her memories will kept and will benefit her for a very long time.