Senior year is one of the most important and stressful times for any high schooler. With senior classwork, events, and other monumental moments comes thinking about college. College is the next big step of any student’s life, and it is no secret that colleges can be extremely competitive and hard to get into. As all high school students get ready to choose where they want to spend the next four years, some are lucky enough to get scholarships and unique opportunities.
One of those students is Giorgio Sylvestre, a senior at Cardozo who earned a full-ride scholarship to Yale University.
Yale University located in New Haven, Connecticut, is ranked number five on the top 10 list of best ivy league colleges. With a 5% acceptance rate, chances of getting into the school can be slim. Sylvestre, however, beat these odds, but also was chosen as one of the very few students who receive a full-ride.
When asked how it feels to be accepted into such a prestigious and major school Sylvestre stated, “Every time I think about it I look at pictures of myself when I came to Cardozo and I just think who would have known, it’s so crazy and a full circle moment to know I ended up at Yale.”
He already knows, as well, what he wants to focus on while studying there. “My intended major is Biology, but I’m also doing a double major in the history of science, medicine, and public health,” he explained.
Sylvestre is a very involved and active student both academically and socially. Not only is he in the Bio-Med program at Cardozo, he is also in Gateway program, on the Arista board, and on the senior board. In addition, he has done multiple internships at many different places. One of those internships being LEDA, a five-week internship at Princeton and Yale, giving him a chance to stay on campus and have the college experience early.
“When I went to LEDA, the five-week internship I did at Princeton, I figured out that community was so important and started looking at schools that prioritize community and Yale was the obvious choice,” he reflected.
He then further explained why Yale was the best choice for him. “If you know anything about Yale, their community is a big thing. Aside from looking for good academics and a good alumni network, but it was about the nuances and the small little things and I just felt like Yale had a big emphasis on community.”
Sylvestre immigrated from Haiti in 2021 and his parents came a year later. He emphasized how much they sacrificed for him and how much they are happy for his acceptance to Yale. “They put in a lot of work because they believe in me and my brothers,” he said. He then further added, “My mom was also a big academic. She is really smart but she could never pursue any of that cause she was in Haiti, seeing her son get into a top school like Yale is so amazing.”
It is no doubt that Sylvestre has a very bright future ahead of himself as he is very dedicated both academically and socially and will definitely be a great fit for Yale University.
