SHS graduate Prose now at Harvard

by Madison Evans

news@thenewsleaders.com

As the new school year begins, Sartell High School’s 2024-25 valedictorian, Bennett Prose, is now continuing his academic journey at prestigious Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.

Prose left Sartell Aug. 19 for his first semester at Harvard. He is now studying in the university’s Department of Government, which introduces students to the discipline of political science. Harvard’s website states “the Department of Government is home to future world leaders, visionaries, researchers and change makers.”

Prose, the son of Gina and Andy Prose, was perhaps destined for big academic achievements from a young age.

Gina, Bennett’s mother and a teacher at Sartell’s Riverview Intermediate School, said Bennett was born curious, always asking the why and how of things and devouring books to soak up knowledge. There was also an early indication that he had a promising future in academia.

“We knew that he was really going to go places after he got a perfect score on his third-grade Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment test,” she said.

The Proses were grateful to be in a school district that fostered Bennett’s desire to learn.

“I remember in (that) elementary school, he did the Battle of the Books and was in extensions programs, and then all the way onto high school, there was just an abundance of AP (advanced placement) courses and independent-studies courses he could take. He was surrounded by teachers who went above and beyond to foster his love of learning,” Gina said.

Bennett graduated with a 4.6 grade-point average. In addition to academic success, he was actively involved in various activities such as cross country, the Student Advocates for Equity group, student council and was the school board’s student representative for several years.

Harvard wasn’t always in Bennett’s future. For just about as long as he could remember, he thought he would go to the University of Wisconsin, Madison. However, he decided to apply at Harvard, just in case. Then, one day last spring while eating a taco-in-a-bag in his basement, he received a message from Harvard regarding the status of his application.

“I opened up the email, and it was like, oh my gosh! This can’t be real,” he recalled.  “And then I went upstairs and told my family. It was pretty exciting to say the least.”

His family also had a lot of feelings about the good news.

“We were super surprised,” Gina said. “There may have been some tears shed when he got the email. We read it several times just to make sure it was legit. Harvard wasn’t really on our bingo card.”

From that moment, Bennett was determined to enroll for this fall’s semester.

“I think when you get (accepted) into Harvard, it’s kind of hard to say no,” he said.

According to Harvard’s admission statistics from 2024, 54,008 students applied, 1,970 were accepted and 1,647 of them actually enrolled. Of those who attended, only 9 percent were from the Midwest.

Bennett said the application process was similar to those of other colleges. He applied through the “Common App,” a website that simplifies the college application process by connecting students to a wide array of public and private colleges and universities across the United States. He filled out the application and answered four supplemental short-essay questions. After submitting those materials, an interview was held where Bennett and a local alum met at a coffee shop to discuss the possibilities of attending Harvard.

Bennett also toured the Harvard campus last April and was thoroughly impressed.

“It’s hard to fully understand how old it is,” said Bennett about that campus. “The dorm I stayed in was one that General George Washington and the troops of the American Revolutionary War had also stayed in.”

Even though Bennett is nervous about moving away from the city he grew up in all of his life, after touring the college, meeting new friends and learning about Harvard’s history, he is excited to start the fall semester. He will be living in a quad dorm room with people from around the world.

While Bennett isn’t sure of his career path, he said he wants to do something through which he can have an impact on people’s lives.

Bennett’s tip for any students with big dreams is to follow their passions.

“Do things that you actually want to do, as opposed to doing them because you’ll think you’ll get something out of it, or it’ll give you an opportunity,” he said. “You should be doing things you’re actually passionate about and care about. And if you do things like that, you’ll find other people who are also passionate about the things you are as well.”

As Bennett settles into life at Harvard, his story is a reminder that big dreams can and do come true.