Sally Ishikawa Earns Prestigious Park Scholarship

By: Skyler Miller

Sally Ishikawa's senior portraits. Via. Instagram

At first, when Sally Ishikawa received her Park Scholarship acceptance email, her initial reaction wasn’t immediate celebration like people’s would be; it was disbelief. “I genuinely thought they hadn’t read my application,” she laughed. “Then I had this wild thought that maybe they sent it to the wrong person.” But the honor was hers, and in that moment, she felt “a lifetime of hard work, curiosity, and compassion come full circle”, and the “pride” she felt for herself was something she could barely describe. “It was so much excitement and relief,” she said. “I was so proud of myself. As someone who’s always been ‘the academic kid,’ it felt like all those parts of me finally added up.”

Sally Ishikawa is granted North Carolina State University’s Park Scholarship. The Park Scholarship recognizes 38 students out of the three thousand that apply each year, determined by the Park programs' “Four Pillars”: scholarship, leadership, service, and character. Ishikawa thinks she represents all four of these pillars, making it through four rounds of essays, interviews, on-campus activities, and finally, the final selection committee. But what she felt truly set her apart from the rest was her “heart”. “I tried to humanize myself through the process. Beyond the resume, I wanted them to see me as someone who really cares — someone who wants to make the world better, and who genuinely cares about everyone they meet,” she said. “I think that came through to them.”

Born and raised in Bunn, North Carolina, Sally spent her 2nd through 12th grade years at East Wake Academy (after starting at Edward Best Elementary for her Kindergarten and First Grade years). She mostly credits her teachers, like Mr. Raynor and Mrs. Warren, as foundational mentors. “They always believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. I probably haven’t even fully realized everything they’ve done for me.”

If you were to ask Sally to describe herself, she won’t just tell you her GPA or extracurriculars. She’ll tell you she’s a leader, a volunteer, and a relentless ‘re-thinker’. “I’m always searching for more,” she said. “Always pushing past a limit or finding a new perspective.”

That natural curiosity is why she’s planning to major in political science and international relations, with a potential double major in business. She dreams of one day working for the U.S. State Department or even becoming a U.S. ambassador. “Plan F is to marry rich and travel the world,” she joked. “But seriously, I want to make a difference, and I feel I can do that through this.”

As she looks ahead to NC State, Sally is ready to explore — from dance and culture clubs to new coffee shops. “I’m so excited for the freedom to figure things out — to step fully into who I am and navigate the world as an adult.”