Attending: Bucknell University
Travel Stipend Use: Travel home

Khanique knows herself, her ambitions, and what she believes in. Her attitude and agency, along with some strong women in her corner—a grandmother, an aunt, and a best friend—kept Khanique steady when she broke with her family during her sophomore year of high school.

Khanique quickly learned how to refocus on "long-term goals rather than short-term rewards." That ability to assess a situation and regroup led her to prioritize taking the most rigorous course load at Mastery Charter School's Shoemaker Campus. It drove her to secure teacher support in school and get and hold down a part-time job to help her cover her senior dues and save for college.

Her inner reserve and conviction also kept her true to a business idea she brought to Junior Achievement (JA) while at Shoemaker. Khanique had a vision to create and sell YOLO hoodies to her classmates—an idea her JA program initially rejected. Undeterred, Khanique used data and persuasion to gain approval for her concept, and hoodie production got underway. Not for nothing did YOLO, for Khanique, mean "Young Outgoing Leading Optimists."

Khanique accepted Bucknell's offer and plans to pursue a dual degree in business management and pyschology.