18-YEAR-OLD SHARES REJECTION LETTER FROM HER DREAM SCHOOL AND A POSITIVE MESSAGE TO GRADUATES
Written by Brittany Styles on April 17, 2024
This is nothing new. People have been getting rejected from colleges and universities for years, however, this story on Good Morning America’s website got my attention. Mostly, it was Nicole Laeno’s willingness to share her raw emotions during the reading of her rejection letter from her dream school, the University of California, Los Angeles. Joined by her mom, dad, and brother, Nicole got the news that she was not offered a spot in the university’s incoming freshman class. She has been a content creator since middle school and has a decent following on social media. Her post about the rejection gained 47 million views and over 44,000 comments.
ABC News senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott commented and posted a video saying, “I got rejected from my dream school. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. You can’t connect the dots going forward, but one day, looking back you’ll see it led you to where you need to be.”
My big takeaway from Nicole’s story was her statement, “Rejection is redirection.” That’s a good one, and I’ll try to keep that in mind when things don’t go according to plan!
