April 9, 2015
Munira Khalif, a senior at Mounds Park Academy (MPA), has achieved the rare honor of being accepted by all eight Ivy League schools, plus Stanford, Georgetown and the University of Minnesota.
“I was very surprised. The best part for me was being able to call family members on the phone and to hear their excitement. This was truly a blessing from God. To me this news is reflective of the support and encouragement of my family, my school and my community,” said Khalif.
In addition to her stellar academic record, rigorous course load, and high ACT score, Khalif is a state speech champion, and founder and leader of MPA’s Social Consciousness Club. She also founded Lighting the Way, a non-profit campaign, to make education accessible for East African youth, especially girls, by focusing on scholarships, building libraries, and mitigating sanitation issues.
Khalif has served as a teen ambassador and advocate with Girl Up, a campaign of the United Nations Foundation that mobilizes American girls to take action on behalf of their counterparts in other countries. Khalif was also appointed as A World at School Global Youth Ambassador, working to promote universal education. For her work as a young education activist, she was one of nine young people from around the world to receive the UN Special Envoy for Global Education’s Youth Courage Award.
“Munira has thrived in MPA’s rigorous educational environment, where we challenge students to be intellectually curious and confident communicators,” said Randy Comfort, MPA’s upper school director. “She already is making a difference in communities across the globe, and I know she is ready to embrace the challenges that arise in our constantly changing world.”
Lisa Pederson, director of college counseling at MPA, added, “I believe Munira has great potential to affect change on the world stage, given her combination of intelligence, sensitivity, powerful internal drive, practical skills and charisma. She interacts positively with people of different backgrounds, opposing viewpoints and ignorance.” 2 Munira Khalif
“I am humbled to even have the opportunity to choose amongst these schools because they are all incredible places to learn and grow,” said Khalif. She has not yet made a final college choice. Khalif will make a few more campus visits before making her decision by May 1. She plans to major in political science and continue working to make a positive impact on the world through public service.
The eight Ivy League schools are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University and Yale University.
