PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Alyssa Perren has recently brought a lot of shine to Paul Robeson High School, a small public school with fewer than 500 students. The West Philadelphia student is bound for Harvard University, making her the first from her school to be accepted to an Ivy League university.
“I just want to make little girls that look like me in the City of Philadelphia, or the tristate area, or even across the country — I just want to make them feel like: ‘OK, she did it. I can do it, too,’” Perren said, sitting next to one of her mentors, Richard Gordon, principal at Robeson.
The 17-year-old from West Philly is soft spoken, yet charismatic — wise beyond her years. That personality, along with her standout grades and her skills as a polo player (rare among Black women), helped the aspiring veterinarian win a golden ticket to the Ivy League.
“When I saw my acceptance, I screamed. And then I just started crying, because … to me, it was more like: Now I can call my family and tell them I got it,” she said.
“And like I called my dad. I called Gordon. I call my mentor, call my mom. I call all the people that I care about.”
She credits her family, specifically her father Christopher — and mentors like Gordon for her success.
“And I know how hard she's worked to get to this point. And so I try, as an administrator, I've tried my best to provide her as much support as possible over the years. I still don't think that, as a system, we are adequately providing enough resources and support for students to achieve these levels,” Gordon said.
“But despite those challenges, she's overcome them. And now she's the first Ivy League acceptance that we've ever had in our building. And so, just from her short determination, you know, this is something that she's earned and it's well deserved.”
Perren’s path wasn’t always clear. When she moved back to Philly in 2018, she didn't get into any of her top picks for high school.
“When I tried to apply for schools and get everything in order that I needed, it just didn't go as I planned,” she said. “I applied to Masterman. I applied to Kappa. I applied to Saul. I remember being waitlisted for Saul. And Kappa and Masterman were like: ‘Nah.’
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“So my aunt, who actually had my older cousin Kenny going [to Robeson] at the time, called Gordon and called me and was like: ‘Do you want to come and meet Gordon and see if you can go to Robeson? It's a really good school.’ I was just like: Okay, I don't have anything to lose.”
The road less traveled has worked out in her favor.
“I think that one of the things that I love about this story — just an example of the many stories that happens — which is, our students are getting the opportunity to get a great education at a non-magnet school that provides opportunities for your average to above-average students, and to your excellent students as well,” Gordon said.
“You know, so just by the sheer fact that we have a nurturing learning environment, so we try to keep it as safe as we possibly can. And it's an environment that I believe in so much that even my daughter goes here.”
Perren says she hopes to inspire others, especially young Black girls from West Philadelphia. For them, she has this advice:
“There's a light inside of all of us that makes us all shine, and it's tailored to who you are. And it's not replicable in any way, shape or form. I would say that — find that light that's inside of you and cultivate it and push it forward,” she said. “Because you can really take yourself as far as you want to go, as long as you believe in yourself. And nobody can stop that.”
Perren will continue to pursue her love of horseback riding at Harvard, where she’ll play polo on the university’s team.
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