Seniors After High School: Alyssa Pillar-Kellman 

OHS Senior Alyssa Pillar-Kellman is continuing her education after high school at the University of Chicago, a pristine school with a whopping 6.5% acceptance rate.

“I loved the tight-knit community, as well as there being a 5:1 student-faculty ratio. It is easy to become closer to your professors at the University of Chicago,” Pillar-Kellman said. 

Pillar-Kellman opened up about her experience throughout high school and what it took for her to be accepted into this school.

“Freshman year was rough. I had mostly B’s, and some A’s,” she mentioned. “But as 10th grade rolled around, I realized that I needed to plan for my future.”

Pillar-Kellman put lots of hard work and dedication into school, studying for tests and working hard to get the A’s that she felt she deserved.

“I would say when it came to just tests, I would study for maybe an hour 3 days before the test. When it came to AP tests, I was probably studying a month in advance for 45 minutes, 5 days a week,” she explained.

While studying, she also was involved in a multitude of extracurricular activities to keep her busy.

“I was involved in student council for 4 years, involved in DECA, and did a lot of community service. I was co-president of the Latinx Student Union, started Imagine Club junior year, and I am a student representative in the Oregon Village Board of Diversity Equity and Inclusion committee,” Pillar-Kellman said.

Not to mention, she also is in the National Honor Society and participated in law and trial envision at Stanford University. Pillar-Kellman has an extremely qualified and established resume.

“In my opinion, I worked very hard and I feel like in order to stand out to colleges, you need not only academics and community involvement, but also to portray growth and how aligned you are to the school. Growth has helped me become a better person and get into college,” she stated.

Pillar-Kellman plans to double major in political science and law letters and society, while minoring in Spanish.

“You are smarter than you think you are,” says Pillar-Kellman, “It isn’t so much about how smart you are but more about how hard you work and your determination.”