High school senior stepping foot into Ivy Leagues | Palatka Daily News, Palatka, Florida

Q.I. Roberts Junior-SeniorHigh School senior Breawna Smith and Principal Joe Theobold stand together after discussing Smith’s plans to attend Cornell University.
Positively Putnam FL

One Q.I. Roberts Junior-Senior High Schooler plans to take her love of agriculture to the Ivy League after earning a scholarship to Cornell University.

Senior Breawna Smith set her sights on the Ithaca, New York, college as a high school junior, and her dreams have paid off.

“I figured there was not much more of a challenge than an Ivy League college, so I began researching the Ivies and found out that Cornell has the best agriculture college in the United States,” Smith said in a statement. “It is also one of the most renowned medical schools in the world, which encompasses my two main interests, leaving my future plans more open.”

Smith, who is president of Q.I. Roberts’ Future Farmers of America program, is the school’s first Ivy League-bound student and a first-generation college student. The high-schooler said she kept busy playing soccer but also liked volunteering and trying new things in the community.

Her mom, Donna Richardson, “couldn’t be more proud,” according to a school district post, and said as soon as her daughter visited the college, Richardson knew that’s where she wanted to go. Smith submitted her application, and then the waiting began.

“Finally, it was mid-December – the 13th to be exact – and it was a usual day. We went to work, Breawna went to school and there was a soccer game to follow,” Richardson recalled in a statement. “At the game, she checked her phone and saw an update to her Cornell profile, and there it was.

“She opened the email and then came to me with tears in her eyes and simply said, ‘I got in.’ I immediately knew and instantly teared up as well.”

Smith said she plans to attend medical school – concentrating on being an oncologist or a physician – after she receives her bachelor’s degree in agriculture. She added that she would like to come back to Florida to practice medicine and give back to people in need.

“We push the idea of Excellence in All Endeavors at Q.I. – being your best in everything you do. Breawna is another great example of that,” Principal Joe Theobold said in a statement. “We are all incredibly proud of her and the work she has done. It’s amazing that Putnam County has a school that is consistently reaching the highest standards in learning. It’s a testament to the students and staff of this great place.”