When Angel Hellen learned she was the Career Magnet Academy co-valedictorian, she was shocked. The senior said, “You just do the work and that will get you there.” She says she has her support system to thank for her success. ”For me, my whole journey from coming to America to this point, I just look back and see a group of people that have been there for me,” Hellen said.
Angel was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the Congolese Civil War. After her father died in the violence, Hellen, her mother, and her sisters fled the country to Uganda when Hellen was only 4. Living as refugees in Uganda, her family waited for six years to be granted entrance to the United States as asylum-seekers.
Now in the United States for almost a decade, and after putting in years of work to excel academically, Hellen is hoping to earn enough scholarship support to attend Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she has been accepted for enrollment and which is among the country’s most prestigious historically black colleges and universities.
Hellen originally planned to study nursing, but finishing at the top of her class has given her the confidence to pursue a pre-med track at Howard University.
Hellen remains positive, “Even if I don’t go, just knowing that I had the chance to go is just like, ‘I’ve really set myself up to go to this school,’” she said. “Maybe not financially, but academically, I’ve done everything that I could to put myself in the best position at one of the best schools ever.”
I am sure we will hear more about the remarkable achievements from Angel Hellen.
(Information borrowed from Kaleigh Cortez story on KCS HallPass)
All of us have a story and I want to tell yours! Send them to [email protected]