An Oakland, Calif., teenager has beat the odds to earn a spot at an Ivy League school.
According to KGO-TV, 17-year-old Akintunde Ahmad earned a 5.0 GPA and scored 2100 on the SAT while living in one of the toughest cities in the nation.
Ahmad describes himself as a regular “street” dude from Oakland. While growing up, his brother and four of their friends were shot at a party. Ahmad could’ve been a victim himself, but he chose to stay home that night to finish an essay.
Although Ahmad dealt with issues that are often hard on inner-city youth, he remained focused on his studies and received guidance from his mother, the principal of Piedmont Avenue Elementary.
Ahmad is also an accomplished baseball player, but his academic achievements will be his ticket to success. Ivy League schools such as Yale, Columbia and Brown have all accepted Ahmad.
He is currently choosing between Yale and Brown to study pre-med or pre-law.
