Aria Vaghefi is recognized as the Star Senior at Alpharetta High School, after four years of working hard and showing determination.
“I think Aria is one of the more well-respected students by the faculty and staff and by his peers,” explained Vaghefi’s math teacher Jeff Cohen. “He’s good academically and is a good person. He’s just a really nice guy. He’s got this aura about him.”
Cohen taught Vaghefi when classes were virtual, and he always remained genuinely engaged in class. Cohen says he was a great participator in online classes, asking good questions, answering questions and staying focused.
“Sometimes it felt like pulling teeth out of students at home, but he never made it that way,” said Cohen. “[He asked] well thought-out questions.”
“He’s a great student,” said Vaghefi‘s counselor Karen Bolt. “[He took] 15 AP and dual enrollment courses and [has] a high A average. He’s respectful, humble, intelligent, driven.”
According to Vaghefi, his biggest high school accomplishment is being named a finalist for the Questbridge Scholarship and getting into his first college.
“[It is] a scholarship meant for first [generation] low-income kids that need more help financially getting into top private schools,” explained Vaghefi.
According to QuestBridge's website, the foundation provides full, four-year scholarships worth over $200,000 each to students attending partner colleges and universities.
After graduation Vaghefi plans to travel to the University of Southern California, where he will attend college. In five years, he hopes to have graduated from college, be pursuing his MBA in financial engineering and working as a financial analyst.
Cohen can envision Vaghefi in a corporate job in five years, seeing where life is going to take him.
“I think he’s open-minded enough to know that if he picks the wrong thing at first, he has a lot of life left in him and can choose something else,” said Cohen.
Bolt has no doubt this is possible for Vaghefi.
“He will be successful wherever he is,” she said. “I’m very proud of him.”
Cohen agreed saying, “You have a lot of great qualities. Just know you are going to succeed no matter what you do.”
After four years in high school, Vaghefi offers this advice to incoming first-year students: “Enjoy your time in high school. Make a lot of good friends and memories.”
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