When Harvey Went to Harvard

Any accepted application to a private university is worth celebrating. For Bella Vista High School senior, Allison Harvey, the acceptance letter came from Harvard University. And while she prepares her move to Boston, it's likely to come with its fair share of revelry. 

Harvey, 18, was not only accepted to the university, but also received a $22,500 grant for the first year of her education.

“While Harvard does not do academic scholarships, they have a lot of alumni and community members who contribute to the university,” Harvey said.

Harvey is still unsure of her major and job path, but said she will be focusing on biology and English literature classes in her first year at Harvard.

“I figure this is the perfect time for me to take whatever classes I want and get as much out of the discussions as possible,” she said.

At this point, Harvey said her dream job would be working in an emergency room setting.

“I know I want to be a doctor in some facet,” she said. “I'm just not sure what branch yet.”

While attending Bella Vista, Harvey was a member of the junior varsity and varsity field hockey teams. She played on the junior varsity team her freshman and sophomore years and was captain of the team her sophomore year. Likewise, she played on the varsity team her junior and senior year and was captain of the team her senior year.

She was also the editor-in-chief of the Bella Vista Literary Journal, a compilation of short stories, visual art and essays. While the journal is an established publication at the school, Harvey was the first to put the journal online last year. 

The membership Harvey is the most proud of is her involvement with the Academic Decathlon team, which she was captain for her senior year. 

“The Academic Decathlon on Bella Vista's campus is like a sport,” Harvey said. “People come out to support us as much as we do any of our sports teams. And during my time on the team we won second place in the whole county, first place in the Super Quiz and my speech won first place in its event.”

Harvey said she looks forward to attending Harvard, thanks to her interviewing process.

“The interview was conducted by an alumni in the area, who met me at a Starbucks and made a point of saying he wanted to make me as comfortable as possible,” Harvey said. “I was inspired by the interviewer – by the way he connected with me. Harvard is an honor, but it's nice I got the feeling from him that it was all human.”

Harvey said when she graduates and becomes an alumna she hopes to be able to inspire future students like he did.