Student With His Pick of Ivys Is In It For More Than Himself

Most parents hope their child will be accepted to one Ivy League school and only dream that they’ll get into multiple, but that’s not the case for Harold Ekeh’s parents. Ekeh has his pick of Ivys for the upcoming year with his recent acceptance to all eight schools.

As posted earlier on Inquistr, Harold Ekeh from Long Island, New York applied to each of the Ivy League schools last fall, never dreaming that he’d be receiving acceptance packets from Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania. Each school is vastly interested in Ekeh’s impressive talent for biochemistry and passionate dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon.

But his GPA of 100.5 percent and his SAT of 2270 aren’t the only reasons Ekeh has his pick of Ivys. These schools are also vastly interested in extracurriculars and volunteer work, which Harold seems to be a natural at through his love for his community and fellow students.

He spends much of his spare time tutoring and mentoring younger students at his school, Elmont Memorial High. He’s also an active participant in his church’s youth choir as a drum player and director.

He sees the opportunity to join new the Ivy Leaguers as more than an opportunity to gain a great education and help others. He also sees it as a chance to give back to his community.

“I am very humbled by this,” he said in an interview with CNN Money. “It’s not just for me, but for my school and community. We can accomplish great things here.”

He was born in Nigeria where he lived comfortably with his family, but his parents wanted more for him, so they moved to the United States when Harold was just eight years old. He struggled at first with the major adjustment in both school and their lifestyle. His parents took humble jobs at Target to help pay the bills, and the family just scraped by.

About their new situation, Harold said, “We had a fairly comfortable life in Nigeria, but they told me we moved to America for the opportunities, like educational opportunities.”

His humble origins are perhaps one reason for his interest in helping his community. In addition to Harold’s mentoring at his school and church, he’s also a part of Key Club and Model UN, and is highly liked at his school where he was elected to the Homecoming court.

Ekeh recognizes the challenges his school, which is 99 percent minority, faces, and is interested to see his success boost the school’s standing and help the underprivileged.

Principal John Capozzi also told CNN Money that Harold is “one of the most humble young men I’ve ever had the opportunity to meet.”

And that opinion is shared by anyone who meets Harold. They can see his charisma and love for those around him, and most agree that the boy with his pick of Ivys is more than deserving.

[Photo courtesy of Newsday]