As
22-year-old Maryclare Chinedo celebrated her accomplishments as a recent Brown
University graduate, she reflected on her experience.
“Coming
from the South Bronx where everyone looks like me, where a majority of people
of color, going to a school like Brown, where there's a wide
range of people, it was definitely intimidating,” said Maryclare.
She
won’t be the only one to graduate from an Ivy League school in her family – her
younger sisters Emma, 20, and Chelsea, 17, both got into Cornell University.
All three sisters attended the Bronx Lighthouse College Prep Academy.
The
three sisters credit their accomplishments to their parents who immigrated to
New York from Nigeria over 20 years ago, and the younger siblings credit
Maryclare for being an inspiration.
Maryclare
Chinedo has a degree in health and human biology and hopes to pursue a career
in engineering.