Johnston, SC – Drew Sloan always felt the hard work throughout his four years of high school and the support of his family would take him wherever his journey after high school might go.

But from the peach fields of Edgefield County, South Carolina, all the way to the Ivy League?
The answer to that question would be an emphatic one – YES! Drew, the Strom Thurmond High School (STHS) Class of 2024 Class Valedictorian, will attend Princeton University in the fall where he plans to major in Biology.

“I really just wanted to see what would happen,” Drew said of the college application process. “I applied to Princeton, Duke, Yale and Vanderbilt and a few other schools and received the news in March that I’d gotten in at Princeton, so I felt it was really a sign from God. I’m very excited.”

“I was shocked when I first opened (the acceptance email,” he added. “I had to refresh the page a few times to make sure it was real.”
Drew’s dad and mom, Jay and Leigh Sloan, and Drew’s brother, Trey Sloan, a STHS Class of 2023 graduate, are still processing things.
“It really sprang on us this fall,” Drew’s dad, Jay, said of the possibility of his son attending Princeton University. “He applied to a number of elite schools, and he was accepted at Princeton. We’re still in the middle of processing it, really.”

The family drove to the school, located in Princeton, New Jersey, and founded in 1746, in April (a 10-hour-plus drive) and came away impressed.

“We fell in love with the campus so we’re very excited for him,” Jay added.

“That visit really sealed the deal,” Drew added. “I loved how historic it was as one of the oldest universities in the United States. The architecture was awesome, and the people were amazing.”

Drew says the education he received throughout his educational experience in Edgefield County, from elementary school through high school, helped prepare him for the next big step in life.
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“We’ve had several people from Strom Thurmond High School graduate and go to top schools, so I definitely knew it was possible and that’s why I never held back from applying to those schools,” Drew commented. “For me, I never thought I would get in at a school like Princeton, but you can’t limit yourself. You will end up where you are supposed to be. I just went for it.”