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After 13 Advanced Placement classes and a roster of extracurricular activities, Sabrina Lim is graduating from Hollister High School as Salutatorian with a 4.6 GPA. This has helped her earn a unique honor: acceptance to Harvard University.
According to Andy Prisco, Sabrina’s counselor, she is the first student he’s seen accepted into Harvard in his 24 years at Hollister High.
“She’s a prime example of someone who worked very, very hard from a very young age,” said Prisco. “I think her mother instilled in her those basic values of working hard, respecting others and not taking things for granted.”
Born and raised in Eastern Samar in the Philippines, Sabrina immigrated to the U.S. at age seven when she joined her mother, Vivian Lim, and an older brother who had already come to the U.S. a few years earlier. Her father remained in the Philippines where the family occasionally visits.
Her mother said she hoped the U.S. would have more opportunities for her kids.
“That’s the thing that I put in my head. We’re gonna have a better future” Vivian Lim said. “I’m gonna work so hard for them.”
In the U.S., Lim worked as a full time nurse and raised Sabrina and her brother in Milpitas. The three of them shared a single room in a communal household with Sabrina’s aunt.
They eventually moved to Morgan Hill where Sabrina completed third through eighth grades. In 2021, Lim bought a house in Hollister, just in time for Sabrina’s freshman year at Hollister High.
According to her mom, Sabrina has shown drive and eagerness to learn from a young age and has been involved in numerous clubs and bands.
Notably, she founded the National Honors Society chapter at Hollister High with another student, Claire Murphy.
“Sabrina normally runs the meetings and she is always so kind,” said Sabrina’s friend Melissa Garza. “She talks to everybody and makes sure that everybody feels welcome and safe, and that they know that they are all smart and that they all belong here.”
Music has played a significant role in Sabrina’s life. Her mom put her in music programs as a child and encouraged her to perform. She now plays the guitar, bass, flute and piano.
Sabrina’s love of music continued in high school, where she was involved in marching band, winter percussion, jazz band, and more. She said one of her favorite aspects of playing music is being with friends who share the same goals and practicing with them.
“Knowing that we worked really hard for it and we got to share the awards together was a very memorable part of my music journey,” Sabrina said. “And it showed me that it’s not about being perfect most of the time. It’s about improving, and enjoying it.”
In the fall, Sabrina will be studying chemistry with a possible double major in cellular biology. She has a full ride scholarship through Harvard’s financial aid program and received several local scholarships to assist her launch into higher education.
At Harvard, she said she looks forward to meeting people from around the world, exploring the food scene on the East Coast, auditioning for one of the school’s orchestras and joining bioengineering/biochemistry programs.
“ I know the funding’s getting cut right now,” she said. “I hope it’s not getting cut a lot. But I want to do research in neuro diseases—cancer specifically—or like anything that has to do with gene modifications.”
Sabrina’s dream is to become a neurosurgeon and one day practice in the Philippines, which has a need for neurosurgeons. She said she would like to provide her services to the community she was raised in.
The BenitoLink Internship Program is a paid, skill-building program that prepares local youth for a professional career. This program is supported by Monterey Peninsula Foundation AT&T Golf Tour, United Way, Taylor Farms and the Emma Bowen Foundation.
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