Valedictorian With Flawless Attendance Record Since Pre-K Earns $430k In Scholarships

Jun 29, 2020 by apost team

There aren't many people who can say they have 100 percent attendance at work. There are probably fewer people who can say they had 100 percent attendance in high school. Ashanti Palmer, a senior who graduated in June from Mount Vernon, Washington, is one of those people. She has an immaculate attendance record for her entire academic career.

Ashanti Palmer was named the valedictorian of her senior class at Nellie A. Thornton High School. Ashanti has never missed a single day of school from her early days at Pre-K right through to high school. If this isn't dedication enough, she has also won numerous scholarships, which combined add up to over $430,000. The money will fund her further education at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she will pursue a biomedical engineering degree, reports CNN.

The Mount Vernon City School District Superintendent, Dr. Kenneth R. Hamilton, could only commend Ashanti’s accomplishments. He declared:

"Ashanti’s achievements in the Mount Vernon schools have been nothing short of remarkable. We strive to ensure our students graduate from here college- and career-ready, and Ashanti is a testament to that goal. Her perfect attendance record throughout her many years in the District have helped build a foundation of academic excellence that she will utilize in the next chapter as a student of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute."

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Students all over the country are experiencing very different graduations this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. As everything is taking place digitally, it was possible for Ashanti to give her graduation speech in a virtual broadcast last week.

"Being named valedictorian feels good because it shows that all the hard work I’ve put in over the years has paid off, and that effort is being celebrated in a big way," she said. "In terms of my perfect attendance, it wasn’t something that I sought out. I knew that showing up to school every day was important because even missing one day can set you back. It wasn’t until 10th grade that I realized I hadn’t missed a day, and then I wanted to keep up the streak."

In her interview with WABC, Ashanti expressed gratitude to her teachers for their part in her success. "I’ve never had a bad teacher; my teachers made it easy for me, made me enthusiastic to go to school," she said. Her mom also played a huge role in getting Ashanti to where she is today. "A joke we always make is, whenever I would come home with a 99, she’d ask me where the one point is because she always wanted me to have perfect grades all the time," she confessed.

Ashanti has big aspirations for the future and aims to put her education to good use by creating her own research company with a focus on getting more women of color into the STEM industry. It is clear Ashanti is a driven and motivated student and no doubt her hard work will see her dreams come true.

What do you think of Ashanti's incredible achievements? What have you received 100 percent in? Let us know below, and share the spirit of this bright young lady's dedication to learning.