Frisco Senior Receives US Presidential Scholar Award
By: Rachael O'Neil | CBS 11 News
FRISCO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A stellar student in Frisco received an honor of a lifetime last week: an award that the President of the United States recognizes.
"I was not prepared for it at all! I really just opened the email and I was like 'Oh my God!' And I was like 'Mom! I can't believe it," said Labiba Uddin, the Wakeland High School 2021 valedictorian.
Labiba, 17, is one of five Texas students to be named a 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholar — an award that highlights academic, career technical, or artistic success. The valedictorian spent countless hours studying for the SAT and tests. This is an effort she's thankful she committed to.
"Not everything always works out," said Uddin. "There's a lot of things I haven't gotten. People always just see the success but there's a lot of failures that go behind it but it feels like everything has paid off."
Labiba's father, Mohammed Uddin, says he's proud of his daughter, but her accomplishments aren't a shock to him.
"She's really very organized and also, in her work, she does it perfectly— in the best possible way. I don't really have to worry about whether it's academic or any other work," Mohammad Uddin said.
And the celebration doesn't stop here. At 4 years old, Labiba said prayers to attend Harvard University.
Well now, 13 years later, her dream is coming true. She will be attending Harvard this fall to study molecular and cellular biology.
"I've said this so many times but it just feels so surreal! Everything these last couple of months has been a shock to me! I just feel blessed for everything that's coming my way," Labiba said.
The senior also started online tutoring for students K-12 back in 2019. She plans to continue this through college.
