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CrossRoadsNews
May 25, 2013
The 2013 Va Most of DeKalb’s 5,177 seniors will receive their diplomas this weekend at graduation ceremonies in stadiums, arenas, the Georgia World Congress Center and the Georgia Dome. On the next four pages, we feature the top students of the 2013 class. They rose to the top of the class by earning the highest grade
Arabia Mountain (Resident)
Arabia Mountain (Magnet)
Cedar Grove
Yadeni Alemayehu
Ayomide Charles Akin-David
Alexis Pointer
Academic success is in Yadeni Alemayehu’s blood. With an economist father and a mother who is a nurse, the Ethiopia native grew up learning the importance of education. “Since I was very little, my parents have always been very strict on grades,” Yadeni said. “They’ve always wanted their children to makes A’s in class and to be very engaged.” Yadeni, 18, topped her Arabia Mountain resident senior class with a 4.1 GPA. Yadeni will attend Oxford at Emory University as a pre-med major. She hopes to become a neuroscientist and be an example for her two younger brothers. “I want to show them that if they work hard, they can achieve anything,” she said. – Jessica Smith
On paper, Ayomide Charles Akin-David is the kid most high schoolers love to hate. The former varsity soccer player is athletic, popular and smart as a whip. But as soon as the Arabia Mountain High valedictorian opens his mouth, his humility and charming personality abound. The 18-year-old soccer player leads his magnet class with a 4.2 GPA. Charles, who goes by his middle name, said he has an active social life – nobody expects him to be as smart. “When people find out, they’re like, ‘Dang Charles! You’re smart?’” he said. “I work hard but I play hard.” He is headed to Stanford University to study computer science on Gates Millennium and Zell Miller scholarships. – Jessica Smith
Alexis Pointer was in the fifth grade when she set her sights on becoming valedictorian. “I just knew what I had to do to be No. 1,” said the 18-year-old, who led her class at Cedar Grove High with a 4.1 GPA. “It was a big moment for me,” she said. “I had to make a lot of sacrifices, but it was worth it.” She enrolled in six Advanced Placement courses at once. “There was a lot of staying up late to do work and not being able to have fun with my friends,” she said. Her straight A’s helped her land a $5,000 DeKalb County Education Scholarship and $1,000 Burger King and Comcast Leaders and Achievers scholarships. She will study computer engineering at Georgia Tech. – Jessica Smith
Columbia (Magnet)
Columbia (Resident)
Columbia (Resident)
Sarah Kuranga
Aleisha Williams
Shykeena Blanton
For Sarah Kuranga, the road to success is a multi-lane highway. The 17-year-old Columbia High magnet valedictorian splits her time among three passions – school, business and golf. “I’ve never made anything less than a B in high school, so I was kind of expecting it,” said Sarah, who has a perfect 4.0 GPA. She will major in political science at Columbia University on a four-year $292,000 golf scholarship. Sarah began golfing six years ago when a family member took her to Sugar Creek in East Atlanta. She plans to be either be a professional golfer or an entrepreneur. “Either way, I’m positive about the future,” she said. – Jessica Smith
Aleisha Williams logged countless hours in the library, and it paid off. Her 3.8 GPA earned her co-valedictorian of Columbia High’s resident program alongside classmate Shykeena Blanton. “When they called my name, I was shaking and crying,” she said. But Aleisha is no bookworm. She is an expert clarinetist who spent her time outside the classroom strutting down the football field. Aleisha’s big reason for working hard is her mother, Mary Ann Johnson, who is a surgical tech and inspired her to become a physician’s assistant. “She never got to go to college,” she said. “I wanted to make her proud.” Aleisha is headed to Georgia Southern University as a biology/pre-med major in the fall. – Jessica Smith
Shykeena Blanton is no dumb jock. Not only does the 18-year-old volleyball and soccer whiz score goals for the Columbia Eagles, she scores top marks in all of her classes. Her 3.8 GPA earned her co-valedictorian of her school’s resident program with classmate Aleisha Williams. This fall, she will go to the University of Georgia to major in biomedical engineering. She plans to go on to medical school to become an anesthesiologist. Shykeena, who is also a member of JROTC, Beta Club and National Honor Society, says her involvement in volleyball and soccer inspired her to pursue a career in science. “Athletes get a lot of injuries, and I want to be able to help prevent pain for patients.” – Jessica Smith
Coreyonna Welch receives a hug from DeKalb CE Chamber board Chairman Arnie Silverman (left)
Grad tops class de By Ken Watts ken@crossroadsnews.com
During her senior year, when her classmates were busy with senior year stuff, Coreyonna Welch was battling ovarian cancer. After her diagnosis last November, she missed months of school through March 4 this year. “I went from being a regular 17-year-old that loved to hang out with my friends to a cancer patient that couldn’t enjoy her senior year because she had to do chemotherapy Monday to Friday,” she wrote in her application to the DeKalb County Scholarship Education Fund. “I lost a lot of friends. I don’t know if they were scared of the way I looked, or if they thought I was going to die, or simply thought cancer was contagious.” Coreyonna said there were times she wanted to give up and ask why her. “But then I remembered that God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers,” she said. “And now I have a testimony.” DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis, who read this excerpt from her application at a reception honoring the fund’s scholars, choked back tears before he helped present a $5,000 scholarship to Coreyonna. A hush descended on the hall at the Fernbank Museum, then it erupted in cheers as Coreyonna walked to the podium to receive her check. Months after her treatment ended, Coreyonna said she was surprised to discover that she had made resident covaledictorian with a 3.92 GPA at Southwest DeKalb, which also houses a magnet school for high achievers. Fortunately for her, Coreyonna had completed all of the classes she needed to graduate by the end of the first semester of her senior year, except for economics.