We have all received our fair share of news on Nigerian youths producing poor results in school but once in a while, a story like this one comes around that reminds us of the innate brilliance of our young minds. This leads us to ask the question: Is this Nigeria’s brightest youth? Meet Harold Ekeh; a Nigerian high school student in the United States with acceptance offers from eight Ivy League universities including Yale and MIT. This is truly an incredible feat, considering how difficult it is to get accepted by just one of these great institutions.
The 17 year old moved to the US with his family at the age of 8, and has since been a star on the rise. He currently has a G.P.A. of 100.5% and was a semi-finalist at the 2015 Intel Science Talent Search for his research on acid DHA’s impact on Alzheimer Disease. His research was inspired by his grandmother’s experience with the disease; one she has suffered from since Harold was 11 years old. With his interest in studying Medicine, we can only expect even more breakthroughs from this young Nigerian.
Harold is passionate about other things besides Medicine; he is passionate about inspiring young people to achieve success. That is why he recently founded a college mentoring club at his high school, Elmont Memorial. His goal is to get more of his colleagues – who are also ethnic minorities – into top universities. We wish Harold the best in all his future endeavours!
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