Vancleave High School senior headed to Harvard University

The Vancleave High Class of 2021 is set to talk the stage in just over a week. This fall, the valedictorian is set to attend one of the country’s most prestigious universities.

Makaelyn Thrash is one of only 747 students worldwide to be granted admission to Harvard University last December under their early action program.

She says she originally was looking to attend school in California, but once she was accepted to Harvard, she knew it was the school for her.

While at Vancleave, Makaelyn has been a member of the National Honor Society, editor of the school newspaper, and manager of the volleyball and girls basketball teams.

Now she’s looking ahead to her next chapter. “I want to study neuroscience and eventually go into medical school, and then I either want to do radiology or pediatric psychiatry, because those are just two things that really inspire me and I’m super interested in both of them, and neuroscience will lead me to a path that I could go either way. That comes along with research, which goes well with med school.”

Makaelyn has also maintained an all-time 4.0 GPA and is a member of the ACT 30 Plus Club at Vancleave High.