Nigeria is blessed with exceptionally talented and brilliant individuals who continue to blaze the trail in various aspects of life, and 17-year-old Augusta Uwamanzu-Nna just made her debut on the list of trail blazers. The Daily Mail reports that the high school senior and valedictorian with a 101.64 weighted Grade-Point Average didn’t just get into one Ivy League university. She has been accepted into all eight.
Hard worker
Augusta credits her success to hard work, persistence, her parents who taught her the importance of education and her teachers. Her research adviser, Michelle Flannory, says the teenager is a natural talent, but she also acknowledges the fact that Augusta puts in a lot of work and strives for excellence. “She knows that you have to work … she definitely pursues excellence.”
Although she’s celebrated today, she does admit that the journey to her accomplishment was not a walk in the park, “I’ve struggled with numerous classes in the past,” she said. “But I guess what allowed me to be successful, ultimately, in those classes, at the end, is my persistence and my tenacity.”
Science whiz
Augusta loves science and plans to pursue it in college. She has received numerous awards in New York science and engineering fair competitions. Recently, she was declared a finalist in an Intel competition for her research project on cement that could prevent underwater oil rigs from rupturing. Augusta says the research project taught her the importance of sustainable development, hence she would like to combine her bio-chemistry work with environmental policy.