Senior Juan Rohrer reached a milestone in his life when he learned of his acceptance to Princeton University. All the hard work he put into school and all the hard work he put into preparing for the ACT paid off with Rohrer earning a composite score of 35 on the ACT and excellent high school grades, which led to the ultimate college financial aid package: Princeton is offering him a package worth $75,000.00 per year.

So, how does someone get from Cortland to Princeton? One way is to make the most of the opportunities presented. A second is to listen to the advice of your parents.

Throughout his life, Rohrer had his parents to inspire him through his journey. He recalls “my parents encouraged me to take the hardest classes available in high school and turns out that is exactly what Princeton looks for.” Some people believe that they have to go elsewhere to be prepared for Ivy League schools, but that is not true. While bigger schools may offer more courses and even courses at a higher level, Rohrer challenged himself to tackle all that Lakeview has to offer and to learn the most that he could within those courses so that the work that led to his excellent grades also carried on to the skills needed to score well on the ACT.

Getting the inside scoop doesn’t hurt, but while his father has written a book called How to get Straight A’s , Rohrer admits that he is just now beginning to read the book in his preparation for Princeton as it is a book geared toward college students. Rohrer mostly just followed his parents’ day-to-day advice to keep up with his school work, pay attention in class, and try his hardest.

A third motivation Rohrer used that gave him the push to work as hard as he can throughout school was learning what life is like for people without educational opportunities. Rohrer’s extensive travels throughout the years have provided him the opportunity to meet many people in places as far away as Australia, but it was his visits to the Philippines that stuck with him the most and made the biggest impact. Seeing the third world country poverty that grips his mother’s home country is something he can’t forget. He turned those images into a driving force to succeed, “I aimed at building the widest, strongest foundation possible so that I could someday make a difference.”

A fourth motivation for Rohrer is to see potential in everything you do. His extensive travel time has opened up an interest in the concept of flight itself. Rohrer has gained an interest in Aerospace Engineering, but, keeping his options open, he has a plan B and that includes study in Medicine.

Lakeview wishes Rohrer all the best in his future years of studying at Princeton and we thank him for the excellent example he has set for other Bulldogs to follow in gaining the motivation to make the most of our opportunities.