Upper Darby High School graduate Amaya Alston attributes her academic accomplishments to her big brother, track star Jayden Alston.
Her efforts have paid off with offers of $2.2 million in combined merit-based four-year scholarships and more offers from 22 colleges to enroll, writes Madeleine Wright for CBS News Philadelphia.
Jayden has done all right as well. He struggled in elementary school but graduated Upper Darby High in 2024 with a million dollars in merit-based scholarships. He’s now a student at West Chester University.
“Jayden had a huge impact on me growing up,” Amaya Alston said. “He was always my biggest role model, and I always looked up to him.”
The feeling is mutual.
“If anything, I look up to Amaya,” Jayden Alston said of his baby sister, “and I love her more than anything in the world.”
Amaya heads next to East Stroudsburg University, where she will study nursing.
“I feel ecstatic, and I’m happy that all my hard work has paid off,” she said.
Although the two siblings will attend different universities, they will still be there for each other, just a phone call away.
Read more about Amaya and Jayden, including observations from their father, Jamar Alston, at CBS News Philadelphia.
Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on DELCO Today in June 2025.
