Southland College Prep’s seniors are heading into graduation with a long list of college offers in hand.
All 135 seniors in the Class of 2026 have been accepted to college, extending the school’s 13-year run of 100 percent college acceptance. Together, they earned more than 1,300 college acceptances from schools across the country and $54 million in merit-based and need-based scholarships.
Seven students received full-ride scholarships from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, known as Cal Poly. Four students were admitted to Washington University in St. Louis, and three of them received full-ride scholarships.
“Admissions to the top schools are important, but equally important is that every student finds a school that is right for them,” said Robert Lane, Southland’s director of college admissions.
“That has always been the mission here, to make sure every child leaves Southland with a pathway to success.”
The graduating class also posted major wins in academics, the arts and athletics.
A team of Southland seniors won the school’s first IHSA Short Film state championship with the production Soul Music. The speech team won its fourth state championship in Performance in the Round, and the choir earned gold recognition at the World Heritage Festival in New York.
This spring, the school’s marching band and Marching Lady Eagles were selected as one of 10 high school bands in the nation to perform in the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade in Washington, DC, representing Illinois.
Six of the top 10 students in the graduating class are members of Southland’s band and dance programs.
Valedictorian LeiLani Barnes will attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she plans to pursue a dual degree in kinesiology and dance. She is captain of the competitive dance team and co-captain of the Marching Lady Eagles.
Salutatorian Loren Rounds will attend Yale University and study political science and public health. She is a section leader in the marching band and also performs in the jazz band.
In athletics, senior Amauree Williams became Southland’s first male IHSA state champion after winning the 300-meter hurdles state title.
The school’s inaugural competitive dance team also won the IHSA Class IA Sectional Championship and advanced to the state finals in its first season.
At Southland’s recent “All In” celebration, members of the Kwarteng family awarded four seniors scholarships of $2,500 each, for a total of $10,000 through the Kwarteng Foundation.
Amy and Esther Kwarteng, both Southland alumni, created the scholarship initiative in honor of their father, Dr Alex Kwarteng, who immigrated to the United States from Ghana and built “a legacy rooted in education and service.”
Southland College Prep has received Exemplary designation from the Illinois State Board of Education, the state’s highest recognition, in six of the past seven years. This year, the school ranked 11th out of 712 schools in Illinois.
Graduation is set for May 23 at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park in Chicago.
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