Republic High School graduate awarded nearly $93K in college scholarships, most in class
Chantal Ogbeifun said her parents have been incredibly supportive of her goals but she did not want to rely on their help to pay for college.
She aimed for straight As in high school and applied for a range of scholarships.
The result was stunning. Ogbeifun accepted nearly $93,000 in scholarships — the most of any senior in the Republic High School Class of 2023.
Four of the 12 scholarships, worth a combined $82,000, are renewable.
"I wanted enough to cover tuition," said Ogbeifun, 18. "I did not want to have to put the burden on my parents."
This fall, Ogbeifun will study political science and pre-law at the private and prestigious Washington University in St. Louis, where tuition will cost $61,750 for the 2023-24 year.
"I am going into law and politics," she said. "My goal is to eventually work for an international law firm promoting human rights whether that is with the U.N., NATO or a private firm. I want to help people because I come from an international family and have more perspective about how families live in other countries."
In high school, she was highly involved in speech and debate, scholar bowl and student government. She earned a weighted 4.6 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
She also earned a Seal of Biliteracy in the Croatian language, which indicates a high level of proficiency.
Ogbeifun, who was selected to speak at graduation, said teachers emphasized learning and understanding subject matter and not just focusing on grades.
"My biggest strength was the humanities so history and government, psychology, sociology. All the teachers I had in that area created that passion for me and encouraged me to keep learning as much as I can," Ogbeifun said. "That was definitely formative for me."
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In addition to Washington University in St. Louis, Ogbeifun applied to — and was accepted — at Duke University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of North Carolina, Ohio State University, Missouri State University and Clemson University.
"I chose Wash U because a lot of their values aligned with mine. They are very community service-oriented and I got one of their community service-focused scholarships and that covered my entire tuition," Ogbeifun said. "Cost was definitely a big factor. That made college more affordable for me."
'Remembered what my parents did for me'
Beyond scholarships tied to a specific college or university, she looked for options that required more work, such as writing an essay or getting teacher recommendations. She figured there might be a smaller applicant pool for the ones that took more time and effort.
"My strategy was applying for anything and everything I could. It took a lot of time and commitment but I reminded myself what my end goal was," she said.
"There were times when it was literally the night before it was due where I'd be staying up until 3 in the morning just writing."
Between searching for scholarships and filling out applications, Ogbeifun said she spent more than 60 hours on the effort.
"The biggest motivation I had was my parents. They immigrated to the United States and they had created such a good life for my siblings and I. I didn't want them to have to pay for our school or take out loans or anything," she said.
"Every time I did get tired or tried to make an excuse for not applying, I remembered what my parents did for me and the sacrifices they made. It was the least I could do."
The scholarships include:
Danforth Scholarship from Washington University in St. Louis − $63,000, renewable for four years
Samuel Smith Stewart Masonic Scholarship − $16,000, renewable
Missouri Girls State Scholarship from Washington University in St. Louis − $2,500
Missouri Oratorical Contest from the American Legion − $2,250
Missouri Scholarship & Loan Foundation Access Extra Scholarship − $2,000
John T. Belcher State Scholarship from the Missouri School Boards' Association − $1,500
John T. Belcher Regional Scholarship from the Missouri School Boards' Association − $1,000
Founders Fund Scholarship from Junior League of Springfield − $1,000
Missouri Women's Legislator's Award − $1,000
Carl Huffman Memorial Scholarship − $1,000
Bright Flight Scholarship − $1,000, renewable
Republic High School National Honors Society Scholarship − $500
Life-changing summers in Croatia
Ogbeifun's father, Alison, is a robotic engineer originally from Nigeria. He met her mom Dina — which is pronounced Gina — when he was in Germany for school, where she was born. She is a daycare supervisor.
The family immigrated from Germany to the U.S. and lived in Illinois before moving their three children to Republic. Chantal, who has an older sister and younger brother, was in third grade at the time.
She said while her mother was born in Germany, her entire side of the family is all from Croatia. The teenager spent the past two summers there in the northwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula.
"This past summer has definitely changed my life completely," she said.
Ogbeifun and her older sister, a student at Missouri State University, decided to spend most of the two-month visit to Croatia helping with earthquake relief.
First, they helped family members with cleanup and repairs. Once that work was done, they volunteered with the international Red Cross.
"I was able to meet a bunch of people who were homeless and displaced and get to learn their stories while providing them resources and helping clean up some of the rubble," she recalled.
They also spent time with children, some of whom were orphaned. Their school had also been destroyed.
"I learned so much that I didn't know about how nonprofit organizations operate and the people and what their motivations and inspirations are. It is just completely different when I am in that side of the world," she said.
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After returning to Republic for her final year of high school, Ogbeifun decided to focus her senior thesis on world humanitarian aid and its impact in second-world and third-world countries.
She also pulled from those life-altering experiences when writing essays required as part of college admissions and scholarship applications.
"That gave me a lot of information," she said. "It helped me spread awareness. That was my No. 1 goal. I just wanted people to know what is going on in other parts of the world."
Claudette Riley covers education for the News-Leader. Email tips and story ideas to criley@news-leader.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Republic High graduate awarded nearly $93K in college scholarships
