9 hours ago
Nigerian immigrant graduates with honors from Anderson High School
ANDERSON — Wuorola Olorunfemi thought she could fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor and living in a mansion in her home country of Nigeria.
Life and God had other plans.
Her mother was accepted into Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York. Olorunfemi was nine years old.
"I found myself facing changes I hadn't anticipated,' she said Saturday during a speech to her fellow graduates at Anderson High School. 'We boarded a plane and left behind everything I'd ever known to move thousands of miles."
She described an array of challenges, including bitterly cold winters and stereotypes that made building friendships difficult.
"I was asked questions like, 'Why is your hair always in braids?' 'Did you live in a hut in Africa?' 'Did you guys hunt lions and zebras?'
"Those moments were uncomfortable and jarring, but I adapted."
She planned to attend Clarkson like her mother, but in 2020, the family moved to Anderson.
"I wasn't thrilled, but Anderson gave me something unexpected: More diversity, more opportunities and the space to truly grow," said Olorunfemi, one of 307 seniors to graduate from AHS on Saturday.
Olorunfemi, the senior class president, ranked 21st in the graduating class.
"Wuoraola is a very lively, independent and bold,' said her mother, Mosun. 'She's a go-getter. She goes for whatever she sets her mind to."
Mosun said she and her husband, Felix, also taught their daughter to value education.
"We focus strongly on academics,' Felix said. 'I know that in this country, if you pursue your education, you can make something out of life."
A love of reading, along with an attitude of self-discipline, he added, augmented his daughter's academic prowess.
"Do your homework, no TV during the week, no video games,' he said. 'If she's not reading academic books, she was reading books from the library. We go to the library every Sunday."
Olorunfemi will enroll in the nursing program at Indiana University. Felix said that, having spent the past two summers taking college-level courses, his daughter will have a leg up.
"For the past two years, she has been going to summer school at Purdue and IU," he said. "Every holiday, she goes to summer school. I think she's more than ready for college.'
Olorunfemi sees IU as a steppingstone on her journey, one which she hopes includes becoming a neurosurgeon and, perhaps someday, " living in a pretty pink mansion."
She hopes to inspire others, especially young Black women, to pursue their goals.
"You don't have to be on top to be great,' she said. 'You don't have to be perfect to be great and do great things," Olorunfemi said. "Make your life what you want it to be."
