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Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna |
By Emeka Chiakwelu
If I can make it there
I'll make it anywhere
It's up to you
New York, New York - Frank Sinatra
I'll make it anywhere
It's up to you
New York, New York - Frank Sinatra
Igbo Nigerian-Americans have finally
arrived and now they are making it in New York. They are living the American
dream in the Big Apple.
Yes, another Igbo American teen is
repeating a history made previously by another Igbo teenager in New York. She is Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna, who was recently
accepted by all 8 Ivy leagues Colleges in America including other four major
universities - Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, New York University and Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute.
Harold Ekek was the one that came earlier
before her. Both teens are New Yorkers from same Elmont Memorial High school.
This is how Voice of America (VOA) put
it:
“For the second year in a row, a teenager from Nigeria has
accomplished what few U.S. high school students can — getting accepted into all
eight Ivy League schools.
Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna, whose parents came to
the U.S. from Nigeria, has until May 1 to decide whether she'll attend one of
the prestigious U.S. universities.
Last year, Nigeria-born Harold Ekeh chose to attend Yale
University after having his pick of all eight Ivy League schools.”
I am still researching to find out whether any student in
America has ever accomplished this lofty task before these two Igbo teenagers.
The families
of these two teenagers came from Igbo tribe of Nigeria. The Igbo people are one
of the largest ethnic groups in Nigeria and Africa. Igbo’s are predominantly
found in Eastern part of Nigeria but are also dispersed around Nigeria, Africa
and beyond.
“Augusta is
valedictorian at Elmont Memorial High School, where she has a 101.64 weighted grade point
average. The school is no stranger to academic
superstars: Last year, senior Harold Ekeh scored
the same number of Ivy acceptances….
Augusta, who was a finalist in the 2016 Intel Science Talent Search, will showcase her
project — research on cement that will keep oil rigs intact— at the White House
Science Fair next week. She wants to continue her passion for biochemistry and
environmental studies. For now, she has until May 1 to decide which college
wins her acceptance,” as reported by NBC News USA.
Even in Britain about few years ago, two
young sisters of Igbo heritage scored the highest points in the country’s
GCSEs. In 2013 Chindi Ota the then 16 year old got 13A’s and two
As, the highest grade points “ in English language, English literature, maths,
statistics, French, history, biology, chemistry, physics, RE and an ICT
qualification worth three GCSEs. The two As were in sociology and German.. In 2010, her sister Chidera, who is studying medicine at
Cambridge, managed to get 15 A*s in the same exams, but both insist there is no
sibling rivalry,” as reported by Kentonline..
Chanda Chisala, a Visiting fellow at Stanford University in his
famous essays “killing Jensen” argued
factually against racial-IQ-hereditarianism and documented Igbo high academic
achievements in Britain to demolish the so-called low IQ among Black Africans:
“The igbo were even more impressive given their much bigger numbers (and
their consistently high performance over the years, gaining a 100 percent pass
rate in 2009!). The superior Igbo achievement on GCSEs is not new and has been
noted in studies that came before the recent media discovery of African performance.
A 2007report on
“case study” model schools in Lambeth also included a rare disclosure of
specified Igbo performance (recorded as Ibo in the table below) and it confirms
that Igbos have been performing exceptionally well for a long time (5 + A*-C
GCSEs); in fact, it is difficult to find a time when they ever performed below
British whites.”
As for
Harold Ekeh, he has finally settled for Yale University for his undergraduate
studies anchoring and concentrating on scientific research and medical studies.
Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna gave advice to relentless
and ambitious New York and American students: "Try and figure out what
your passion is, try to figure out what you are passionate about, what you like
and enjoy and talk about what you have learned."
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