Meet Ju Mi La, a 2023 Young Scholars Alumna and Salutatorian for Proctor’s class of 2023! 

Ju Mi La joined the Young Scholars program in 2017. Ju Mi says “My family knew of the program through other family members who had kids in the program and told me that I should work to be accepted into the program as well. They knew that it was targeted to help kids like me in the Utica City School District succeed and wanted me to have that help.” Following her acceptance into the program, Ju Mi La has been heavily involved in several programming opportunities that Young Scholars provides to students. When discussing some of her favorite programs, Ju Mi La says “I really liked the summer program field trips, STEAM, and the health internship. I learned about the campus and its resources and it was the major factor in my decision to attend Utica University.”

Young Scholars has played a large role in shaping Ju Mi’s life both in and out of the classroom. Ju Mi says “I met some of my closest friends through Young Scholars and made connections with people I never thought I would have met. Without the resources from Young Scholars, I would have not been as successful as I am in my academic career.” 

Ju Mi La has had several successes throughout the years! She says “I am the most proud of being salutatorian of Proctor’s class of 2023 and being on track to graduate college debt free.” Ju Mi La is currently attending Utica University this Fall studying to be a Math Teacher. She has also started working for Young Scholars as an Office Assistant! 

When discussing her experience and the advice she would offer to current Young Scholars students, Ju Mi says “I would advise current young scholars to do their community service. It may seem like a hassle now, but it will pay off when applying for college and searching for scholarships. As a young scholar, I did about 150 hours of community service and having that landed me thousands of dollars in scholarships.” 

Ju Mi La is an absolute asset to the Young Scholars program and we are so excited to see what the future holds for her!