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| Saheela Ibraheem and President Obama at the White house |
Read the story;
Nigerian genius, Saheela Ibraheem, 19,
made history when she was honoured with an official reception in the
White House by the US President, Barack Obama and the First Lady,
Michelle.
Saheela Ibraheem got into the Ivy League
Harvard at the age of 15, where she is currently studying neurobiology —
a branch of science that studies the brain — and has been listed among
the “World’s 50 Smartest Teenagers.” She was also accepted for admission
by 13 other top colleges in the United States, including the MIT,
Princeton, Columbia, and six Ivy League institutions, choosing Harvard,
she became one of the youngest students to ever attend the university.
She will be graduating in May this year.Speaking after an introductory speech by Ibraheem at the White House, President Obama stated that “there are a lot of teenagers in the world. Saheela is like one of the 50 smartest ones. That’s pretty smart. And she’s a wonderful young lady. She’s like the State Department and the National Institute of Health all rolled into one. And we are so proud of your accomplishments and all that lies ahead of you. And you reflect our history. Young people like you inspire our future.”
Ibraheem, who skipped two grades in
school, said the key to success is figuring out what you love to learn
as early as possible, which she did at the young age of five.
“If you are passionate about what you
do, and I am passionate about most of these things, especially with math
and science, it will work out well,” she told CBS 2s Cindy Hsu. In
addition, Ibraheem speaks four languages that include Arabic, Spanish
and Latin.
Her mother, Shakirat Ibraheem, said her
daughter has been way ahead of the academic game since kindergarten —
never cutting corners and trying to do everything on her own. “She’s
like always independent,” she said. “I never get to help with her
homework because she’d say ‘it’s my work mommy, not yours.’”
Ibraheem’s recognition and reception was
part of the “Black History Month” celebration in the US, which comes up
in February. The “Black History Month”, takes root from the activities
of the “Association for the Study of African American Life and History.”
Every year, Americans set aside the month of February to celebrate the
central role that African-Americans have played in every aspect of
American life especially the march for freedom and equality, jobs and
justice, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and some profound
contributions African-Americans make in the American culture.
Present at the evening event were
members of the US Congress, including Leader Nancy Pelosi, and members
of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Credit sundayadelaja
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