La. high school student gets accepted into 37 colleges

MONROE, La. (KNOE/Gray News) – A student at a Louisiana high school is being praised and celebrated by her community after being accepted into 37 colleges.

Kaitlyn Apperley has also been offered a total of $1.5 million in scholarships from various universities, including two full-ride scholarships.

Apperley also works a job and owns her own business.

“Coming from like a single-mother home, a single-parent home, I was still able to accomplish the things that I have accomplished,” she told KNOE. “And it will be hard nights, long nights studying and stuff. Snd some days you just don’t feel like getting up but you just need to go, do it, get it over with and it will pay off in the end.”

Apperly has accomplished a lot in her 17 years of life. She will graduate from Wossman High School in Monroe, Louisiana, with 22 college credits and said she wants to study pharmacy in college. She said she plans to use her degree to become a compound pharmacist.

When she started applying to colleges, the acceptance letters came rolling in.

“I got into the University of Pittsburgh, University of Denver, Xavier, I got deferred from Harvard,” Apperley said.

One of her former teachers, Justin Overacker, known as Mr. O by his students, said all of her hard work is paying off.

“I think it really exudes her tenacity, and I think it shines a light on what pride and beauty we have on the south side of Monroe,” Overacker said. “But Kaitlyn’s story just exudes the story that we really have on the south side of Monroe which is genius, which is excellence, which is what every town has, which is beauty.”

Overacker said Apperley’s hard work and determination gave him hope during a time when teachers had to relearn how to teach through a global pandemic.

“To have a college say ‘You’re worth it.’ You already know she is worth it so to have a national college say you are worth it, that’s your baby, you’ve known that she’s worth it,” Overacker said. “So I don’t know, it’s that confirmation that there is hope, that there is light in the world, and that our future is going to be okay.”

Wossman High School’s principal said Apperley is a role model to other students.

“She’s definitely made the school proud, always made the school proud, and we use her, as a kid and as you see today she had her Woss Cat sweater, that’s what it’s all about giving kids the opportunities to do things that show other kids hey you can be like me or you can do better than what you’re doing sometimes,” said Dr. Harrington Watson.

Perhaps one of the most remarkable things about Apperley is when all is said and done, she’ll never forget where she came from.

“I could come back, donate to my community, donate to scholarships funds for other students who are still here,” Apperley said. “Wossman and Carroll or schools just in the district have an open scholarship for other kids because college is expensive.”