Florida Teen Achieves Astronomical GPA
The National Geography Bee, the National Spelling Bee, the National Science Bowl … Indian-American students have excelled at various academic competitions and seen their achievements trumpeted in the media. But rarely do they get publicity for attaining high grade point averages (GPAs) in their schools. Then again, rarely do their GPAs come close to those of Dhara Patel.
The 18-year-old graduated from Plant City High School in Hillsborough County, Florida, with a GPA of 10.03. Even she couldn’t quite believe it.
“I found out that was the final number; I was kind of in shock...in awe. I was like, is this really possible? Did this really happen?” she told TV station FOX 13 in Tampa Bay.
Yes, it happened, largely because Dhara took 17 Advanced Placement classes and completed enough courses at a local community college to earn an associate degree—months before she earned her high school diploma.
She will study microbiology at the University of Florida this fall, having earned a full tuition scholarship. That’s a reward for all her studying, a lesson she hopes to impart to others.
“I don’t think I’m the smartest person in the world, but I try really hard and I’m willing to study before and after school,” she told Yahoo’s Good News blog. “I hope that people hear stories like this and wanna go out and do more things like that.”
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
[Comments? Contributions? Please email us at melvin@melvindurai.com. We welcome jokes, quotes, online clips, and more.]
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