They’re the brainiacs of The Bronx.
Nine newly minted graduates of Cardinal Spellman Catholic high school are now in the “Millionaire’s Club’’ — raking in a whopping total nearly $11 million in scholarship money.
The teen geniuses were each awarded more than $1 million in merit-based grants — much of it from a plethora of prestigious schools, including Ivy Leagues — for a staggering total of $10,799,476.Cardinal Spellman high-school students (clockwise from top left) Shakira Simo, Robert Hernandez, Gabrielle Henriques, Nina Gonzales, Akua Amponsah, Rehema Ojwang and Kaylynn Little beam after reaping a total of nearly $11 million in college scholarship money this year. Stephen Yang
“Somebody actually called and argued with me that that was impossible,” said Dierdre Gibbons, the director of admissions at Spellman.
Rehema Ojwang, one of the amazing nine, said, “It kind of shows people that are just coming up and are about to find a college and are looking into their futures that this is really doable.
“I’m not a genius, and I was born and raised in The Bronx,” said the super student, who plans to study politics at Princeton University in the fall. “I’m a first-generation American, my parents are immigrants.
“What you have to do is just stay passionate in the things that you do — you don’t have to start a business, and you don’t have to start a nonprofit, you don’t have to go to these heights. I think you just have to make sure that you are putting effort into the things that you like doing.”
Another “Millionaire’s Club” member, Shakira Simo, said she is looking forward to studying public policy at Brown University.
“I think it’s really inspiring to accomplish something so big,” she said. “It’s not something I really would have imagined when I was a freshman, sophomore or even junior. I think just having grit and determination, persistence really gets you to that point.”
Joining Simo and Ojwang in the “Millionaire’s Club” are Alyssa Rill, Gabrielle Henriques, Rehema Ojwang, Robert Hernadez, Akua Amponsah, Nina Gonzalez, Saniya Smith and Kaylyn Little.
All of the stellar students filed countless school and scholarship applications in the past few months in addition to wrapping up their senior year and making time to enjoy their final moments as classmates.The group is not only academically stellar but stand out in other ways, too. Stephen Yang
In addition to scoring plenty of university scholarships, the students won a significant portion of the money from outside groups, too.
They spent countless hours writing essays for each individual scholarship, many of which offered amounts as relatively low as $1,000.
The kids aren’t just book-smart, either. Henriques, for example, sewed her own prom dress, while Hernandez was a major player in the school’s theater program.
The kids cast a wide net to reach their incredible eight-figure total, applying to an average of 16 different universities. Hernandez topped his friends, applying to 20 different schools.
“I want to be the greatest actor ever. Anything with the musical theater program, I’m jumping on,” he explained.
Some of the impressive schools the students are attending next year include Princeton University and Marist College, as well as SUNY Stonybrook and Lehman College.
The teens said the college application process pushed them out of their comfort zones and involved some of them calling universities and asking for additional money on top of their scholarships.
Spellman has proudly flaunted its record-breaking total on its social-media channels.
