March 20th 2024.
Daya Brown's extraordinary accomplishment of being accepted into more than 50 colleges and receiving a total of $1.3 million in scholarship funds was not a matter of luck, but rather the result of meticulous planning and unrelenting determination. In her recent interview with Harvey Bracken-Smith on his "Personable" YouTube channel, Brown revealed that she had intentionally studied the paths of successful students who came before her during her high school years.
"I observed what they were doing...they were the leaders of the SGA, BSA, Beta Club, and National Honor Society," she recalled. Brown sought guidance from them and asked, "How did you achieve all of this? I don't want to pay for college." She was determined to follow in their footsteps and make the most of her high school experience.
The constraints brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic presented Brown with the opportunity to immerse herself in extensive research and create a list of colleges that offered majors, minors, or certificates in her areas of interest. She went above and beyond, exploring prestigious scholarships such as Coca-Cola, as well as offerings from sororities and fraternities. In the end, she chose Duke University and began her freshman year in the fall of 2023.
"When I first visited Duke, I had this overwhelming feeling - I thought to myself, 'Wow, I can see myself accomplishing a lot here,'" she shared. "It was the only school that made sense to me." Brown was well aware that she was a Black woman and that Duke's acceptance rate was only 7%, so she strategized her path to admission accordingly.
Before diving into the Common App process, Brown attended numerous college fairs, utilizing her impressive resume and academic record to secure on-site admissions and scholarships. She also applied to several HBCUs through the Black Common App, which resulted in academic scholarships from multiple institutions. "It wasn't about the number of schools I applied to; it was about ensuring my parents could relax and not worry about student loans," Brown explained during her interview with Good Morning America in April 2023, when she was a senior at Westlake High School in Atlanta. "I don't want to have to rely on student loans, so this is a gift to both myself and my parents."
With plans to pursue visual media studies in college with a minor in journalism, Brown strategically pursued extracurricular activities aligned with her passions. These included poetry, writing, and film production. "A lot of students don't realize that you have to be more than just a student," she emphasized. Brown attributes her success to the unwavering support of her "village" - her father, mother, grandmother, and brother.
In addition to her academic accomplishments, Brown has also demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit by creating her own production company, Elom & Co. Productions, which is dedicated to supporting emerging creators. In her interview with Bracken-Smith, she shared some of her other achievements, including becoming the youngest intern at Warner Studios when she was a teenager, securing a spot in a Harvard Debating project, and launching her own podcast, Scholar Social.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Brown is excited to begin a summer internship with DirectTV's content team. She also recently became a Branding Strategy & Business Analytics Extern at Beats by Dre. It is clear that Brown's dedication, hard work, and strategic planning have paid off, and she has a bright future ahead of her in the media industry.
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