*Nina Mitchell, a 17-year-old who has become the first Black female to be named valedictorian in her high school’s 159-year history, achieved the honor 61 years after her grandmother also earned the top GPA of her graduating class.
Mitchell graduated from DeKalb High School in DeKalb, Illinois, with a 4.549 GPA. She was president of the Honor Society and Key Club. She was also a founder of the Spanish Honor Society, a member of Spanish Club, was part of the principal’s advisory board, a founding member of the peer mediation program, played volleyball and ran track. In her community, Nina was the first Black chair of Youth Engaged in Philanthropy, a legislature with the Illinois YMCA Youth and Government and a member of the Youth Advisory Council.
Nina’s grandmother, 75-year-old Pearlene Carter, graduated at the top of her class 0f 1959 at Walker High School in Coldwater, Mississippi.
“My grandma has always been an inspiration for me, and a role model,” she added. “She’s a force to be reckoned with. She’s always bragged about me to her friends and has made me feel so loved.”
Nina was accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she will attend as a business major.
Watch her story below, or click here to view at GoodMorningAmerica.com.
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