The University of Chicago second-year Naa Ashitey says that she always knew she would go to college — but she wasn’t always sure how she would get there, or how she would afford it. Her father works seven days a week; her mother has always cobbled together multiple jobs to help provide for the family.
“I saw what my parents were going through, working so much, and knew I needed to get into college to provide for myself.”
As a high school student living in Woodlawn, Ashitey was eligible for the Upward Bound program of UChicago’s Office of Special Programs - College Prep, which offers students from South Side communities year-round academic support, along with help navigating college admissions and financial aid. OSP helped connect Ashitey with a full-ride QuestBridge scholarship; she’s now on a pre-med academic track and aspires to earn both an MD and a PhD.
“Getting into UChicago has been the biggest accomplishment of my life thus far," she says. "I thank the Office of Special Programs for the guidance they gave me during the three years I was part of the program.”
