Nicole Oo: Our 2023 Accomplished Scholar!

By now, many university entrance results for 2023 have been released, and we would like to introduce one of our accomplished scholars, who was able to carry the honor of SPEC this year. Her name is Nicole Oo.

♦️ How she found out about SPEC

In her freshman year, Nicole started attending our school in Brooklyn. Later, when we closed due to the outbreak of the virus, Nicole would begin joining our online classes. “Help my daughter get into a good school” her mother said. Nicole would diligently work alongside Mr. Yan. They prepared SAT subjects, brainstormed how to write college essays, learned how to fill out FAFSA, collected recommendation letters, and so on.

♦️ Extracurricular activities

Nicole, along with her classmates, founded a club named “Help Us Help Them”. A group that helps and distributes food and medicine to the homeless in New York. When the Omicron virus was spreading, she and her school members gathered and distributed care packages. The children of the team prepared them systematically and put them in goodie bags. They would include: woolen gloves, socks, and hats to protect them from the cold, toothpaste, hand soap and nutritious protein bars. They planned to make ends meet with the small expenses they had, such as bottles of water and some emergency medical supplies. Her noble act was recognized and she was interviewed and mentioned on Silive.com: https://www.silive.com/news/2022/02/help-us-help-them-club-of-tottenville-high-school-is-making-strides-aiding-the-homeless.html?fbclid=IwAR1KG4lpE4-QKFnBE8HJuXdJm012jP37Td7z4n7schejsVUKeCukxC83u58

When we interviewed her, she replied like this.

"Seeing all the cheerful faces on these individuals encouraged us to continue on these donation trips even more," Nicole Oo said.

Now, the club she founded has grown to about 150 members with new leaders.

Here are pictures of Nicole’s Help Us Help Them Club activity on their Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/helpushelpthemclub/?hl=en&fbclid=IwAR0RojtwPqloBGcZLYS-qZZKhpDHf5iE4l9Tdb7KCZhw3JI0mf23dzsX3Cw. When she came to consult on this topic, we immediately gave her the answer. 'We will write an essay based on that experience, Thamee.' We worked together to write several essays together.

She started hearing some good news from the schools she applied to around the last week of February, but she was still waiting for the main schools, so both the teacher and the students were quiet. Now, in the last week of March, we have received news from many schools, so I am proud to announce the schools and scholarships she received.

♦️Financial Aids and Scholarships Nicole Received

1. Union College, NY ($77,349 per year),

2. Lehigh University, PA ($73,715 per year)

3. Drexel University, PA ($52,545 per year)

4. Rochester Institute of Technology, NY ($26,945 per year)

5. Binghamton University ($24,888 per year)

6. The Pennsylvania State University, PA ($19,505 per year)

Soon, she will choose the school that she wants to attend. On behalf of SPEC, we would like to send our best wishes to Nicole, a daughter who listens to her parents and works tirelessly to achieve her goals.