He's all-Ivy -- accepted to all 8 Ivy League colleges
- Thread starter Sirius Dogon
- Start date
orejon4
Well-Known Member
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/johns...ior-s-mark-of-success-top-college-5375015.php
When Akintunde Ahmad walked into the library at Oakland Technical High School to talk to Yale University recruiters making their annual East Bay stop in January, some of the other student hopefuls turned and stared.
With dreadlocks draping his shoulders, and his 6-foot-1 frame in the sweatpants and T-shirt he had thrown on after baseball practice, it sure may have seemed like this guy was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But 'Tunde, as he is called by friends and family, was right where he was supposed to be.
The 17-year-old Oak Tech senior received an acceptance letter from Yale last week to prove it. He also has offers from Brown, Columbia, Northwestern, the University of Southern California, UCLA, Howard, Chapman, Cal Poly and Cal State East Bay, and has been waitlisted by UC Berkeley and Georgetown.
"People looking at me funny is so common that it doesn't stick out for me anymore," says Akintunde, who has a 5.0 GPA and scored 2100 (out of 2400) on the SAT. "It's something that I've gotten used to."
Young and strong, athletic and African American, 'Tunde describes himself like "any other street dude on 98th Avenue," the neighborhood where he grew up and lives. Perhaps that's why he has often been overlooked and underestimated - and left alone to quietly go about his business.
"I'll leave this school and there will be teachers who never knew I was one of the people on the honor roll," he said.
He's met private-school students who've suggested that his achievements are the result of easy classes and a low bar for academics at public schools. He doesn't need to defend his GPA, or his appearance on the honor roll for every semester that he's been in high school. Instead he prefers comparing SAT and AP scores, and that usually shuts them up.
'No private tutors'
"Oakland public schools all the way through," he says, jokingly pounding a fist to his breast. "No private tutors or private schools. This is strictly OUSD."
He's one of six children raised by his parents, Zarina and Mubarak Ahmad, who are, dare I say it, a stereotypical American family. 'Tunde's mother, Zarina, is an educator who began her career as an Oakland schoolteacher. She is now the principal at Piedmont Avenue Elementary School. His father, Mubarak, has worked as a mechanic at AC Transit for 20 years.
The family practices the Rastafari religion - and it's why 'Tunde wears dreads. He's never had a haircut in his life, Mubarak Ahmad said. The family has worked hard to raise all their children right, instill in them good values and encourage them to steer clear of trouble.
Like many responsible parents, they are willing to work for however long it takes, sacrifice everything, to ensure their kids can enjoy a better life than they have.
With 'Tunde, encouragement wasn't necessary, because he did things without being asked, on his own initiative - a trait he has always had.
"I've never tried to cross any boundaries or anything like that," 'Tunde said. "I'm just good at following directions, and no good ever comes from challenging a Parental Unit."
Despite their best efforts, 'Tunde's parents were not able to steer their older son, Azeem, away from the dangers awaiting a young African American man on the streets of Oakland.
Father's advice
"I've always told my boys that it's very easy to get into trouble, but very hard to get out of it," Mubarak Ahmad said.
Mubarak Ahmad worried about Azeem. And silently, so did 'Tunde.
Mubarak warned Azeem that a person he was hanging out with would one day get him caught up in trouble, and sadly, he was right.
In 2012, Azeem was caught carrying guns to be used in an Oakland stash house robbery that turned out to be a federal sting operation. He was convicted on conspiracy charges and shipped off to a federal prison in March 2013, sentenced to 41 months.
"We got the same mother, the same father, just a different path," 'Tunde said. "I feel like it's a setback for him, but sometimes it takes that kind of shock to grab your attention."
'Tunde's got an old man's brain working in a young man's body, and while he may sound bookish, he's anything but one-dimensional.
He's a student-athlete who played basketball for three years - until deciding to focus solely on baseball this year. He was the MVP of the Oakland Athletic League baseball in 2013, hitting around .500 with 15 or so stolen bases. He expects to play baseball where ever he goes to college next fall.
He's a member of the Young Musicians Choral Orchestra, and plays trumpet, French horn and the djembe - a West African drum.
His work ethic is as much a part of him as an extremity, and his commitment to his time-management regimen may have saved his life.
In January 2013, two months before his brother was incarcerated, 'Tunde declined an invitation from Azeem to hang out at a friend's house because he had an essay due for school. At that house, five people were shot, including his brother, who suffered two gunshot wounds.
"There's plenty of people I know who have been killed," he said. "I could write a list starting in elementary school of all the people we grew up with who have been killed."
"I could have easily been caught up in that life. You don't have to be a bad person to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Fortunately, 'Tunde has so far shown impeccable timing, both on the baseball field and in the classroom.
Besides playing some baseball, he plans to go into pre-med or pre-law.
"That's what I'm thinking, but I'm still undecided," he said.
[YOUTUBE]OgxjeRlHufQ[/YOUTUBE]
Awesome report, Sirius! Keep them coming!
flaminghetero
Well-Known Member
So is character..it is also an individual journey.
You can be educated...quit....and punk smooth out...it ..happens all the time.....people with character never quit.
You can educated and not be able stay out the crack-house...folk with character don't know anything about a crack house.
Character > Education
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Morning Star
Well-Known Member
How does one build character though? Through education. But not just academic education, but a long journey and thirst to learn and open yourself to new things. Your character is molded through that overall.
Try building character in a forest for 18+ years and see if education has no merit.
Try building character in a forest for 18+ years and see if education has no merit.
flaminghetero
Well-Known Member
Character is instilled....it isn't learned.
Education does not build character...hence all the educated fools and losers.
Education doesn't make up for flaws in character...but Character does make up for flaws in education
Morning Star
Well-Known Member
Character is something that is learned actually.
http://www.2knowmyself.com/do_we_inherit_personality
Experiences in life through varying forms of education (not limited to academics) do allow us to build a better character. One doesn't inherit tolerance of others. It's a learned experience, thus building character and more so through the educational means.
http://www.2knowmyself.com/do_we_inherit_personality
Experiences in life through varying forms of education (not limited to academics) do allow us to build a better character. One doesn't inherit tolerance of others. It's a learned experience, thus building character and more so through the educational means.
Character is instilled....it isn't learned.
Education does not build character...hence all the educated fools and losers.
Education doesn't make up for flaws in character...but Character does make up for flaws in education
People with character also have a choice. As do educated people. It's a matter of degree. We are all educated from the moment we are born from learning to eat, walk and talk. Later we learn about obedience and recognition of authority, which begins at home. And then we go to school to learn the reading, the writing, the math and sciences. And after you graduate from high school, you have to decide for yourself what path in life you want to follow. When you go out into the world away from home and enter college or the military(that is if you go to either), you will know that to be there is a privilege and an honor. You are on your way. What you are talking about is self-reliance, which is also taught in the home. I was taught at an early age about the dangers of drugs. And I still remember those dangers. I've known people who wrecked their lives from drugs. But that is the path they chose. No one forced them to take illegal drugs. Education and self-reliance are choices. Self-reliance means that you want to get whatever you need or want by yourself without any assistance. Well, that is good. But if you needed no assistance in finding something that you want or need, you have to ask someone. That someone may or may not know, but that person might guide you to someone who knows someone or someplace. Anytime I hear someone say "I did it on my own and I didn't need help from anyone", I know that they had some help along the way. They say this to show the pride in themselves. And try to inspire others to do the same. Leading by example. But, I say that every person's life journey is not and will not be like the other person's life journey. As it was said in the film The Natural where Glenn Close as the character of Rose says to Robert Redford's Roy Hobbs, "We all have two lives; the life we live with and the life we learn with." Individual character is born of both living and learning. Parents, teachers and mentors try to guide these children onto paths where they can learn , be challenged and inspired. In my opinion, a classroom is the safest environment to develop character. The workplace is a classroom of sorts. The world away from home can teach a lot of lessons, if one survives the day. It toughens that person up. But, if that is how that individual was brought up, that is how that individual will survive. That is that individual's life journey. I knew a young kid who was an ace in music theory, performance and everything else. He was planning on attending the U.S. Air Force Academy. Shortly after he graduated from high school, he fell in with the wrong crowd and was arrested. His hopes for a higher education and a military career were dashed because he made a bad decision. Sure, one can take time off from that path if one chooses to. But others continue on because they have many goals to achieve in their lives. Whatever one chooses in life, the door to an educational institution is always open. On the streets, one has to look in all directions for an opportunity. There no guarantees and all Roads do not lead to Rome.
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DonnyJ
Banned
I'm gonna download your comment to my Kindle Fire and read it sometime next week.
Beasty
Well-Known Member
lmao
The Dark King
Well-Known Member
Can someone post this for me
http://www.bet.com/news/global/2014/04/04/jamaican-teen-american-colleges.html
http://www.bet.com/news/global/2014/04/04/jamaican-teen-american-colleges.html
RaiderLL
Well-Known Member
RaiderLL
Well-Known Member
:smt080
andreboba
Well-Known Member
Giving college scholarships to foreigners?
Hell to the no.
I used to hang out with a guy from Zimbabwe. He was studying to become a doctor in this country so he can bring those skills back to Zimbabwe. He was a cool guy.
The Dark King
Well-Known Member
Giving college scholarships to foreigners?
Hell to the no.
She'll be a citizen in no time like that boy from Ghana. I do think the foreign ties is what's making these students attractive to these colleges though because as impressive as their grades are getting into that many great schools doesn't normally happen for American born kids with same credentials. Maybe they factor in the assumed hardship factor but even the girl from Jamaica I would assume comes from a wealthy family despite the hardship of Jamaica as a whole
RaiderLL
Well-Known Member
Agreed.
