Sharon Njeri-Wambu, a Kenyan-American teenager, has received admissions into 11 esteemed universities in the United States including Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia after her stellar high school performance.
The rest are Cal Poly Pomona, and Vanderbilt, University of South California (USC), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), University of California Irvine (UCI), University of California, San Diego (UCSD), University of South Carolina, Beaufort (UCSB), and the University of California, Riverside (UCR).
Njeri-Wambu, whose parents immigrated to the United States from Kenya, graduated from Norco High in Norco, California. She shared her excitement with the African Warrior Magazine following her incredible feat, noting she was fairly gobsmacked.
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“When I opened my college acceptances, I was incredibly excited and even a bit shocked. So many qualified applicants get rejected and I am grateful that the admissions committees saw something in me. It makes me happy to know that wherever I choose to go, I will have access to amazing resources and people who will push me and help me achieve my goals,” she told the Magazine.
Njeri-Wambu is excited about studying computer science in college to become a software engineer where she can develop platforms for people to share experiences.
“I feel that computer science gives me a tangible way to solve problems around me, and I appreciate the creativity that computer science requires,” she said. For her, the most powerful software engineer is “a socially conscious one.” “Through computer science,” Njeri-Wambu said, “I hope to create innovative solutions for societal problems and cater to underserved communities.”
She has already begun working towards that by making a game for the visual and hearing impaired as part of a group project during a summer program she had participated in.
Additionally, she is also working on an app to inspire students of color to challenge themselves academically “after realizing that there were no other black students in my advanced classes.”
As a Kenyan-American, Njeri-Wambu said she had faced some of the misconceptions people have about Kenya and other African countries and that “perhaps using technology such as virtual reality, I can show people the beautiful country, the value put on education, and the complex issues that Kenya is dealing with.
“Large projects like this will take an advancement in my technological skills, and I am grateful that I have the opportunity to learn from top professors and outstanding students.”
Njeri-Wambu is yet to choose which university she will be going to.
