Stefan Soh

I am a high school senior with a 4.2 GPA who has taken 5 AP courses with scores high enough to earn credit. I am also an athlete who earned the opportunity to play for a top basketball prep academy. It was not an easy decision for me to leave my family and move to Pennsylvania; however, my family supports my goals and dreams and agreed because of my hard work and dedication to both my academics and athletics.

I am a fortunate son of an immigrant from Cameroon - my dad is from there originally and he now serves in the US Foreign Service. My mom, who is 1 of 28 children born to a Black father & white mother, is the first in her family to attend college. It's because them that I have the drive and desire to help others. I have had the opportunity to visit many countries with them - from Congo to Peru to Tanzania to Switzerland - and gain awareness about the inequities so many in this world face.

The stories I’ve heard about my family have motivated me to work on building a better life for myself regardless of the seemingly insurmountable odds I might sometimes face. What inspires me is an experience my mother had when she shared with her high school counselor her dream of attending one of America’s most prestigious universities. He told her repeatedly to only apply to local schools - to abandon such far-fetched dreams. However, she wouldn't allow others to place limitations on what she was capable of - and now, as a graduate from Duke Law, she is the epitome of what can be achieved when one doesn’t let oneself be discouraged by the limiting words and beliefs of others.