Black Girls Rock: NY Teen Displaced By Hurricane Sandy Gets Into 7 Ivy Leagues

18-year-old Daria Rose is the perfect example of consistency, focus and determination in the face of adversity. During her sophomore year, the Long Island student lost her home and all her belongings to superstorm Sandy, including clothes, pictures and jewelry.

“My mom and my dad and my family, they made me realize what was important. Stuff is just stuff. What is important is your health, education, your family.”

She and her family bounced from hotel to hotel, for a while living with her grandmother, before they finally resettled a year and a half later in Baldwin, New York. Rose said that it was difficult to focus on school work during this time:

“It was hard because it’s really unpredictable when you don’t have a stable place to live. [You] don’t know if you’re moving here next, or there… I was living in these small spaces but in my head I was able to escape … find myself in a literary world.”

Congratulations Daria! She joins many other African American teens who were accepted into multiple Ivies this year, including Munira Khalif, Nik Bostrom and Harold Ekeh.

You can read more about Daria here.