Mother McAuley student accepted to 22 colleges

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Accepted to 22 universities and awarded $300,000 in scholarships, a student at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School in Mount Greenwood is more than ready for college.

"It was a pretty amazing experience. I've made so many friends. I've been friendly with so many teachers, and I've gotten a lot of support from the entire school," said Ariyana Davis.

Davis has fond memories of her four years at Mother McAuley, but she is now looking forward to her bright future ahead.

"I want to major in accounting because there is a lot of problem solving in that major, and there is not a lot of math in that field," she said.

With just one college application, Ariyana was accepted to 22 universities and given hundreds of thousands in scholarships.

"I used the Common Black app, which is a website where students can apply to HBCUs where you can apply to up to 50 colleges," Davis said.

All of her hard work has paid off, and there is one special teacher she credits with helping her get this far.

"She means everything to me because she's been my learning resource teacher for the past four years," Davis said.

"It's just overwhelming with joy. You see these young ladies from the beginning and they are just so excited about college. I get excited for them. It really was one of those moments where you knew the light bulb had been going off, and my heart was just filled," said Julianne Alvarado, learning resource coordinator, Mother McAuley.

For other students looking for the same success, Davis has one piece of advice.

"Do what you have to do so that you can do what you want to do," she said.

Davis will be heading to Alcorn State University in Mississippi this fall. After that, she'd love to continue on to a master's degree at the University of Illinois.