By Sydney Simpson – Editor-in-Chief

Two high-achieving students from Jonathan Law’s Class of 2022 were recently named Coca-Cola Scholarship semifinalists. 

Out of more than 68,000 applications received, Diya Daruka and Mackenzie Powers were among the two percent named semifinalists. They are both currently competing to become one of the 150 Coca-Cola scholars, all of which will receive a $20,000 scholarship. 

“It feels great to be a semifinalist,” said Daruka. “I am so thankful for this opportunity, and I honestly never imagined myself making it to this round, so I am very happy and grateful that I was able to become a semifinalist.”

In order to advance to the next round, the girls have to fill out a lengthy application form complete with six open ended prompts. 

“If I get selected as one of the 250 to move onto the next stage, I will have an interview with the Coca-Cola board,” said Powers. “I will attend a conference in Atlanta with the other winners and participate in various activities.” 

Students were able to take advantage of this scholarship opportunity through Naviance, a resource offered to students to assist them with college applications and future plans. Both Daruka and Powers worked hard throughout their high school careers to achieve this honor. 

Daruka, in addition to being the Class of 2022’s valedictorian, is involved in a wide array of activities beyond the classroom including sports and clubs. She has even started her own non-profit financial literacy program for students from third to twelfth grade. 

“Financial illiteracy is a significant problem, especially in underprivileged areas, and it’s a big contributor to the cyclical poverty that occurs in underprivileged communities,” Daruka said. “Financial literacy needs to be taught at a young age, so that individuals can make successful financial decisions when they grow up, and by teaching my course to underprivileged youth, I hope that they are able to gain the foundational skills needed to help them financially in their future, and they can pass it down to their kids as well to hopefully combat the cyclical poverty that is occurring in underprivileged communities.”

Powers is also an active member of both the school community at Law and the Milford community. She participates in and is a captain for two varsity sports, gymnastics and outdoor track, and she holds several positions of leadership in many school clubs. 

She has made her mark on the Milford community through her work as the founder of Mackenzie’s Beach Clean-up project, which has been keeping Milford beaches clean for 14 years through an annual town wide beach cleanup.