AFRICA | 16-year-old, Sylonna Johnson, from Inglewood, California, has been awarded scholarships worth $240,000 to pursue her bachelor’s degree. Her remarkable achievement makes her the first person in her family to attend a four-year university.
Sylonna was one of the 4.62% of students accepted into Yale University for the fall 2021 class. In addition to Yale, she received acceptances from 13 other colleges, earning over $240,000 in scholarship offers.
Despite the prestigious Ivy League acceptance, Sylonna has chosen to attend Hampton University, a historically Black college and university (HBCU) Reflecting on her decision, Sylonna cited a desire to feel comfortable and authentically herself.
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At her high school, Teach Tech Charter High School, she co-founded the Black Student Union, representing one of only 22 Black students in the school, according to U.S. News & World Report’s Best High Schools Guide.
“I talked to students at UCLA and Georgetown, and all the other schools I applied to. I didn’t feel like I would fit in, especially since the Black population[s] at those schools [are] so low,” Sylonna said.
“They consider themselves diverse, but diverse doesn’t always mean Black students. I genuinely did not want another four years spent like high school,” she added.
Being the first in her family to attend college and having no relatives outside California, Sylonna was drawn to the supportive and inclusive community of an HBCU.
“I noticed a lot, like, any time you see a Black student posting that they’re going into an Ivy League, they get so much, like, hidden backlash. It really sucks. I never want to go to a school and feel like I don’t belong there,” she said.
Sylonna draws inspiration from former President Barack Obama and the movie Legally Blonde. She plans to major in political science at Hampton University, starting on a full-ride scholarship.
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