Benjamin Carson High School senior Mahbuba Sumiya received a full scholarship to Harvard. Mahbuba, 17, applied Nov. 1sand was accepted Dec. 17.
After being accepted Sumiya said she felt “so relieved and I was shocked.”
Sumiya has become a point of pride for the BCHS community. She has always been active within the school. Although Sumiya lives out of district, she chose to attend BCHS because of the STEM and medical focus of the curriculum.
"I am very proud of her and everything she has accomplished for herself," BCHS Principal Dr. Sean Lively said.
Harvard was not the only school Sumiya was accepted to. She applied to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Columbia University in New York and Stanford in California.
“I got into the University of Ann Arbor with a full ride. Right now, I’m still waiting to hear back from two other schools," Sumiya said.
Sumiya's accomplishments caught the eye of the local media and was featured on Detroit's FOX 2 on Feb 11. In the feature Sumiya said she wanted to pursue biomedical engineering and cancer research. According to the report, she became interested in cancer research after taking a biology course at BCHS.
Sumiya often credits her teachers for her success.
“I've known Sumiya and had her in classes for the last three years and she has always been an absolute pleasure," BCHS English Teacher Shannon Waite said. "She has impressed me with her intelligence, ambition, perseverance, and creativity, but most of all her kindness. It's been so cool to see the impressive accomplishments that this young woman has had, and I'm honored to have been a part of that process.”
BCHS is one of the Detroit Public Community School Districts application schools.
