It’s been a long time coming, but the Albany Public School District has reported that Ms. Onovu Otitigbe-Dangerfield has earned the title of Valedictorian. This makes her the first Black student to become Albany High School’s Valedictorian.

According to WNYT, Ms. Otitigbe-Dangerfield made history by becoming the first black student in the school's 152-year history to earn the title of Valedictorian. This is a major accomplishment when you think about it since 152 years ago would lead us to the time of Reconstruction right after the Civil War.

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Ms. Otitigbe-Dangerfield graduated with a near-perfect GPA, and her determination led her to this major accomplishment. She said, “I think just being able to be valedictorian is an amazing accomplishment. I am very privileged to be in that position but to have some historical meaning behind it, to have a position wherein my school there’s a lot of students who look like me, now I’ll have an opportunity to look like that mantra – if you can see it you can be.”

Ms. Otitibge-Dangerfield says that her determination really saw her through. She says that if someone tells her she can’t do something, that gives her a great motivation to prove them wrong.

Even with her outstanding academic accomplishments, she finds time to participate in extracurricular activities. She plays soccer, sings in the Select Choir, plays the violin and piano in the Jazz Improve Band, she is the President of the Key Club, Editor-in-Chief of the school's online newspaper, and President of the school's Robotics Team. In addition to extracurricular activities at school, she works at a nursing home on the weekend.

Obviously, this young lady is a very well-rounded person. Although Ms. Otitibge-Dangerfield sets a really high benchmark, hopefully, another black person will be named Valedictorian soon.

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