rosse Pointe Woods
December 18, 2013
Liggett student earns ticket to Ivy League education
By April Lehmbeck
C & G Staff Writer
Shanta

GROSSE POINTE WOODS — University Liggett has a history of churning out students who go on to some of the most prestigious schools in the country, and it appears they’ve got another future Ivy League scholar on their hands.

Not only that, but the news is even bigger than acceptance into a big-name school.

“A student of ours was selected as a prestigious QuestBridge Scholar and will now be attending Yale on a full scholarship,” Ron Bernas, the school’s director of communications, said in an email.

That student is Mostafa Shanta, a Detroit resident, who has been attending Liggett since eighth grade after transferring from Hamtramck Academy.

The QuestBridge program matches lower-income students who are high-achieving with 35 of the top-ranked post-secondary schools in the nation. Being named a finalist is a feat because only 5,000 of the 13,000 who applied were named finalists, but being matched with a university of the student’s choice is an even bigger accomplishment that only went to a few hundred students.

“Those of us who work with Mostafa fully expect that he will become a scholar of the highest order,” Liggett’s Director of College Guidance Elizabeth Jamett said in a press release. “There is no question that he has the talent and instinct to contribute to scholarly dialogue in the most meaningful way.”

Shanta, who came to the United States before the age of 2, said he was surprised to see he’d earned the scholarship to attend Yale. He said finalists were allowed to list up to eight colleges in order of preference, and Yale was in his top two.

He thought getting into an Ivy League university would be cool.

“It was a top choice,” he said. “I didn’t expect to get in.

“I kept Yale at the top, just in case — if it does happen,” he said.

He was so surprised that he said he reread the email twice. He said he’s still trying to let it sink in that he’s going to be at Yale next year.

Shanta’s parents were also excited at the news.

“They called everyone they know,” Shanta said. “They’re really, really excited.”

Shanta enjoys studying international relations and plans to pursue the field while at Yale.

“I’ve always been interested in how countries interact with each other,” he said.

“I’m really interested in the religion and politics mix, and really how is that going to play out in the future,” he said.

Shanta said Liggett prepared him for this experience by helping students communicate effectively and express thoughts and interests beyond superficial responses.

“Liggett really taught me how to do that well,” he said.

While he would love to be a diplomat working in other countries, he hasn’t decided what specific career he’ll pursue after college.

During his time at Liggett, Shanta has participated in activities like Quiz Bowl, debate team, the Interfaith Club and the Robotics team.

Shanta isn’t the first student from Liggett to be named a QuestBridge Scholar. Recent recipients were Aaron Robertson last year and Janaya Gripper, a 2009 Liggett graduate. Robertson is attending Princeton, and Gripper attended the University of Chicago.

Shanta wanted to thank Jamett, as well as two teachers who wrote letters of recommendation, David Dwaihy and David Thompson.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer April Lehmbeck at or at (586)498-1043.