Leah Thompson is a current high school student from the Overbrook Hill area of West Philadelphia. She lives just a short 5-minute drive from Saint Joseph’s campus. Leah has been taking classes at Saint Joe’s this fall semester during her senior year of high school.
Leah received the opportunity to take classes at Saint Joseph’s University because of her successful application into the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Diocesan Scholars program. The application process included getting two letters of recommendation, a written essay, and an in-person interview. Leah was accepted into the program because she placed in the top-5 in her school. She chose to take classes at Saint Joe’s because there are classes relevant to her prospective major. Leah is taking Communications because she knew it could help her with her photography business and with promoting her clothing brand.
Leah described what her most hectic day of the week is like during her time here. The first thing she does is Uber to her high school, which she said can take “20 to 30 minutes” due to a lack of drivers in the area. Next, during her mid-day break she quickly goes home and gets what she needs to come to Saint Joseph’s campus. Afterwards, she has three separate practices, including competitive cheerleading, that altogether last from 3:30 to 11:00 at night.
Leah says that Saint Joe’s will definitely be one of her options for college if she decides to stay in the Philadelphia area. She explained that she had some worries that college students would not accept a high school “kid”, but that she has enjoyed her classes here and the people have been nice. Leah’s other preferred options for college include UCLA and Stanford because of the area and personal connections she has there.
