By Nikki Battiste Graduate s generous offer stuns commencement crowd
Verda Tetteh earned a standing ovation as the class speaker at her Massachusetts high school graduation. But what she did next had the crowd in awe.
The Fitchburg High School student, who will be attending Harvard College in the fall on a full scholarship, won an additional $40,000 scholarship from her high school at last week s graduation ceremony. She could have used the scholarship for expenses, but instead, the 17-year-old gave it away shortly after it was awarded. I am so very grateful for this but I also know that I am not the one who needs this the most, she told graduation attendees.
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A Fitchburg High School, Massachusetts, graduate headed to Harvard University for college has turned down $40,000 in scholarship money from the school, so it can be used to help her community college-bound classmates. (Shutterstock)
FITCHBURG, MA A graduating senior who already earned a full ride to Harvard University got a standing ovation at the Fitchburg High School, Massachusetts, graduation ceremony, but it wasn t only her academic excellence that was cheered by her classmates and their families. It was her sudden act of good will, too.
Verda Tettah was at the podium during her June 4 graduation when she told the crowd she would turn down $40,000 in additional scholarship money offered to her by the high school, so the money could go to other students who need it more, according to reports from WUSA, The Boston Globe and others. The school had offered the straight-A student $10,000 for each of her four years in college to help pay for books, computers and living expe
By Mark Robertson
Photo: Getty Images
A high school senior headed to Harvard University has asked that a $40,000 scholarship she earned be given instead to a student attending community college. Verda Tetteh, from Fitchburg High School in Massachusetts, knows how a community college can change someone’s life, as her mother attended one at 39. Tetteh, who plans on majoring in chemistry and following a pre-med track at Harvard, turned down the $40,000 in scholarship money from her high school while accepting the school’s general excellence award on June 4. She said, “It is such a great honor, but I also know that I am not the most in need of it.” The prestigious scholarship is for $10,000 a year and renewable for four years.