See The 17-Year-Old Nigerian Granted Admission In 13 Universities

Serena Omo-Lamai has been granted admission to study in 13 universities in America and Canada, she has opted for Syracuse University, United States.

Omo-Lamai, who graduated from Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos, last year, would be going to the states to study Bio-Medical Engineering.
The Punch reports that some of the universities where she was offered admission include Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, New York University, among others. Speaking in a telephone interview with newsmen on Monday, Omo-Lamai said she settled for Syracuse University because of the institution’s world-class research laboratory and a $51,000 scholarship offer.

The teenager, who aspires to be a medical engineer, disclosed that she would study medicine as a second degree. “I feel very honoured and I feel it is an opportunity to work harder. I know that I have to justify the offer. I chose Syracuse University because it has a very good research lab and the offer came with $51,000 scholarship. I have always loved Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Geography.

“My hope is to study medicine for a second degree, but I would love to be a medical engineer. Most of the medical equipment in the country are imported and I would like a situation where medical equipment is manufactured here in Nigeria.
“My parents are my role models, but I am also inspired by anyone who is hard working, anyone who puts so much efforts into what they do,” she said.

Serena Omo-Lamai is not the first of Nigerian teenagers to achieve an educational feat of such magnitude, it would be recalled that High school senior Harold Ekeh didn’t just get into one Ivy League university. He was accepted into all eight. Ekeh got into all 13 schools he applied to, including MIT and Johns Hopkins. “I am leaning toward Yale,” he told CNNMoney. “I competed at Yale for Model UN, and I like the passion people at Yale had.” Some of the Yale students he met became his friends and mentors, offering advice on the college application process. Now Ekeh is trying to do the same thing.

Ekeh, 17, founded a college mentoring program at his school, Elmont Memorial High School on Long Island in the New York city suburbs. His goal is to get more students into top universities. The Nigeria born teenager came to the United states when he was eight. He wrote his main college essay about the struggle to adjust, including being clueless in US history classes at school. He said he would ask his parents repeatedly why they moved.

“We had a fairly comfortable life in Nigeria, but they told me we moved to America for the opportunities like the educational opportunities,” he recalled. CNNMoney reports that the salutatorian is quick to credit his parents, school and community for his success. “I am very humbled by this,” Ekeh said in an interview. “It’s not just for me, but for my school and community. We can accomplish great things here.”