Corona resident and Townsend Harris High School graduate Lesley Yupa was selected as one of the four New York City students in the 2024 class to earn the $10,000 Milken Scholars Award thanks to her strong academic performance and extracurricular and community service work.
A joint initiative of the Milken Institute and Milken Family Foundation, this scholarship program annually recognizes high school seniors in New York City, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles County.
In addition to the $10,000 cash prize, winners of this scholarship receive lifelong access to college advising, career counseling, internship assistance and community service opportunities. They also receive a fund to help with graduate school applications, unpaid internships, study abroad programs and other costs associated with their career pursuits.
Yupa participated in a student research internship at NYU’s Nadrian Seeman DNA Structural Nanotechnology Laboratory. She conducted medical research there and presented her findings to the faculty. Additionally, she participated in NYU’s Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP), in which she earned an award for the presentation she gave at the program’s research exposition. She has also interned at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, volunteered at NYU’s Langone Outpatient Surgery Center and engaged in CUNY’s Health Professions Mentorship Program.
While she was the only high school intern at the Bureau of Equitable Systems at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Yupa managed to build valuable connections with those she worked with. She credited the collaborative environment and her own experiences within the healthcare system for helping spark this connection with her colleagues.
As a student at Townsend Harris High School in Flushing, Yupa was an AP Scholar with Distinction and a recipient of the Coca-Cola Scholarship. She received the New York State Seal of Biliteracy Award, given to students who attained a high proficiency in English and at least one other language, as well as the College Board National Hispanic Recognition Award, which recognizes outstanding high school students of Latino and Hispanic backgrounds. Yupa was also a finalist for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, which seeks to empower students and parents with the knowledge and resources needed to complete a higher education successfully.
In addition to being successful in her schoolwork, Yupa was very active in school club activities. She served as president of the Get Your Life Together Club, where she helped provide her fellow students with networking opportunities, guest speakers, resumé workshops and internship connections. Some of her other extracurricular work included playing varsity soccer, serving as student union class senator, writing for the school newspaper, being a member of the Red Cross Club and co-leading the La Herencia Hispana (Hispanic Heritage) Club.
Community service is also very important to Yupa. She volunteered at the nonprofit Luv Michael to drive autism awareness. While volunteering at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital, she provided interpretation and emotional support to patients, trained new volunteers and organized dog therapy events. Additionally, through the DOROT Teen Internship Program, Yupa supported senior citizens by providing them with weekly home visits.
“Many people asked me, ‘How do you manage to do all this?’ and really, it feels like a fever dream when I look back at it,” Yupa said. “If I can get through that, I can get through other things.”
According to Yupa, all this led to her guidance counselor nominating her for the Milken Scholar Award. Throughout the whole application process, her father was undergoing chemotherapy, meaning she was also helping to take care of her family.
“Having to balance work, academics and extracurriculars, plus taking care of my family in any way I could, was a challenge,” Yupa said. “Just being recognized for it, was definitely a very memorable and amazing moment.”
Yupa would often accompany her father to his doctor appointments, helping to eliminate the language barrier between him and his physician. Through her own experience working in the medical field, Yupa also knows what questions she should be asking on her father’s behalf.
“It allowed me to combine my experiences and exposure,” Yupa said. “As a volunteer, I helped take care of patients at a hospital. Now, I’m applying that to take care of my dad.”
Yupa said her interest in the medical field developed at a young age. She was born with the rare medical condition Microtia, wherein the cartilage of the outer ear is absent or underdeveloped. When she was ten years old, she had to travel to San Antonio, Texas, to get reconstructive surgery from a specialist to rebuild the ear.
She said the people she met and interacted with during her year-long stay at the Ronald McDonald House Foundation there played a huge role in unlocking her interest in the healthcare system. Yupa became friendly with and inspired by other kids there, including some younger than her who had already undergone multiple surgeries to treat serious conditions and illnesses. Despite what they had to endure, they were all in high spirits.
Yupa noted that Microtia is most common in Latin American countries, but that many lack the resources and specialists to perform the necessary reconstructive surgeries. Many families lack the needed resources to bring their children to America to seek treatment. Due to these factors, Yupa expressed interest in becoming a reconstructive ear surgeon and raising awareness for Microtia in other countries to try and help those in need of treatment for the condition. At the time of her surgery, only four surgeons specialized exclusively in reconstructive procedures for Microtia.
Yupa gave immense credit to her grandmother for helping shape her into who she is today. The two would often walk around their neighborhood together when Yupa was young, with her grandmother telling her about what it was like raising six kids as a single mother and her struggles before coming to the United States. Yupa’s grandmother also helped ensure that she learned to speak Spanish.
“I spent a lot of my time with her,” Yupa said. “That was definitely very influential. A lot of the things I do are to thank her for doing that, for the way that she raised me and the values she set on me.”
Yupa is currently attending NYU and studying global public health and chemistry. She has aspirations to get an MBA and have a career in the medical field.
The Milken Scholars Program was founded in 1989 by Michael and Lori Milken to honor exceptional young individuals who have demonstrated the potential to make a profound difference in the world. Scholars are chosen while in their senior year of high school on the basis of distinguished academic performance, school and community service, leadership, and evidence of having overcome personal, financial, and/or social obstacles. Milken Scholars receive financial assistance, as well as a strong support system of resources and networks during their academic and professional careers. For more information, visit www.MilkenScholars.org.
