Miami Norland Senior High's valedictorian is set to graduate next Wednesday with more than $2.5 million in scholarship offers under her belt.
DeJaya Hardy, the Miami Gardens teen, who earned a 5.3 GPA through dual enrollment and Cambridge courses, has accepted a full ride to the University of Florida.
A scholar with big dreams and a strategic plan
Hardy, who plans to pursue a career in public relations and dreams of working for major companies like Apple, Microsoft, or Google, says she began applying for scholarships in 11th grade—eventually submitting over 100 applications, all on her own.
Hardy explained, "For instance, some are low income, some might be for this race or that race, but I say still apply to the ones that you know you can apply for and sometimes you never know. There may be scholarships that no one has applied for, so just apply to everything that you see because you never know what opportunities are out there for you."
Her approach was methodical. She used a spreadsheet to track her progress and repurposed essays to speed up the application process.
"When you get to that 20 mark, you'll have a whole bunch of essays kind of just sitting there, so there's nothing wrong with taking the essay, just updating it a little bit, and then using that for the next scholarship," Hardy said.
Principal applauds trailblazing student
Miami Norland Principal Rhonda Gaines Miller praised Hardy for her exceptional performance and inspiring example.
"She kind of downplays what she does, but she's such an amazing student and to have $2.5 million in scholarships is amazing and it actually sets a trend for the other students," she said.
Though Hardy had to turn down several offers—including full rides from Cornell, the University of Missouri, and FAMU—she plans to keep just over $1 million in scholarship funds.
Scholarship search: From Instagram to the cap bulletin
Hardy said she found opportunities through school resources and her own research.
"A lot of them came from the cap advisor, a lot of them came from the cap bulletin, but I've done my own research as well, so I've seen that there are some Instagram accounts that will shout out scholarships," she said.
As she prepares to start her next chapter at the University of Florida, Hardy also has her sights set on media. "I want to have a sort of like a podcast or a TV show," she added.