16 of 37 Valedictorians of Boston Public Schools Not Born in US

Edner Paul, who immigrated from Haiti four years ago, non-fluent in English, is the valedictorian at the O'Bryant School of Mathematics in Boston. He will enroll at MIT this fall. (courtesy photo: Edner Paul for EthnicNEWz.org)

(Updated 16:35 Wednesday, 3 June 2009)

Sixteen of the valedictorians of the 37 public high schools in Boston are foreign-born this year.  At least two of them -- Edner Paul and Min Zhong -- came to the US within the past four years, from Haiti or China.

Edner arrived in the USA in the late spring of 2005, not fluent in English.  He wanted to get admitted to a good high school for math, but he needed a way to quickly learn English -- no problem for Edner. 

"I would go to the library and check out videotapes and listen to them every night and in the morning," he told EthnicNEWz.org. 

Listening to the videotapes and reading books on American idioms and vocabulary paid off for Edner.  Just months after arriving in Boston with his mom and siblings, he entered the John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics.  There, he became co-captain of his soccer team, and he joined the math and Amnesty International clubs.  The math whiz will continue his studies this fall at MIT.

Min, a student at Charlestown High School, recently won a $15,000 scholarship prize for her first-place submission in an invention competition.  Her medical-alert invention, which is already on file for a provisional patent, allows emergency responders to enter individuals' homes promptly, without having to break down doors and further delay medical treatment.  She will study chemical engineering this fall at Tufts University.

The 14 other valedictorians and their countries of origin are:

Anh Hoang Truong, VIETNAM, Excel High School

Audrey Taisha Guerrero, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Parkway Academy of Technology and Health

Chidiogo Onwuakor, NIGERIA, Social Justice Academy

Dinela Gjecka, ALBANIA, Boston International High School

Eduardo DeLacruz, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, The Engineering School

Hei Yiu, CHINA, Boston Latin Academy

Hieu Thong, VIETNAM, TechBoston Academy

Julio Ma Shum, CHINA, Brighton High School

Katty Reyes, VENEZUELA, Noonan Business Academy

Roxanna Trujillo, VENEZUELA, Another Course to College

Shauna-Kaye Clarke, JAMAICA, New Mission High School

Tristan Campbell, JAMAICA, Urban Science Academy

Yasin Adow, SOMALIA, Boston Adult Technical Academy

Yukun Li, CHINA, Boston Latin School

  Source:  EthnicNEWz.org Copyright 2009 New England Ethnic Newswire, EthnicNEWz.org.  All rights reserved.  If you use this material, please cite and link to (for online use) EthnicNEWz.org.  Inquire or send press releases to NEWz at EthnicNews (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Follow EthnicNEWz.org on Twitter at Twitter.com/EthnicNEWZorg. Post your comments below.  Please stay on topic.  A one-time-only registration is required.