From the tundra to the Ivy League- Nome resident and 2024 Mt. Edgecumbe High School (MEHS) graduate is heading to Harvard in the fall. Cash Arrington applied to 18 colleges in hopes of at least one admission. To his surprise, the most attractive offer came from the one school he wasn’t even expecting to say “yes”.
In addition to being accepted into Yale and the University of Utah, Arrington chose to attend Harvard University, one of the nation’s most prestigious Ivy League schools.
“I kind of applied just because, you know, it’s Harvard. I ended up getting accepted. The thing about Harvard is, I didn’t just pick it because of the name, although that was a big factor,” Arrington said. “But also, they gave me one of the best financial aid offers that I got from any school, which is pretty surprising because it’s like one of the schools that costs a ton of money.”
Initially Arrington was interested in civil engineering after high school, but joining the debate team changed the trajectory for his future plans. His sights are set on earning his degree and moving forward into law school.
“Debate kind of led to running for student government, because the two things kind of go together. And debate really set me up for for that,” Arrington said.
Arrington feels his academic career at MEHS has prepared him for the rigors of college. Having spent the last four years at boarding school, he feels ready for the independence he will need to rely on while studying Political Science nearly 4,000 miles away from home.
MEHS Drama, Debate, and Forensics (DDF) Coach Lynn Bastoky describes Arrington as “wickedly intelligent” and “pragmatic”.
“He recognizes that there are different ways to be smart. There’s no arrogance in him at all. He’ll try new things and he’ll be bad at them and be okay with that,” Bastoky shared. “He’s a really kind, respectful person.”
Arrington served as Student Council President his junior and senior year at MEHS. According to Student Council Advisor Jack Davis, Arrington would recite the motto “If you believe, you can achieve” every day. The mantra was just another example of the ways Arrington sought to bring out the best in everyone around him.
“He didn’t do that job because he wanted to be on top of a group of people and make decisions for them. He is one of those people that’s like a public servant, he wants to help other people,” Davis said.
Arrington’s experiences with student council and DDF will come in handy when it’s time for him to prepare for law school. He has a lot of dreams for his future, but his hopes for now are to complete his education and return to Nome to serve his community.
Before making the big move to Boston, Arrington is hoping to work for the summer and prepare his younger sister Sara to possibly attend MEHS in two years.
