Thirteen-year-old Noella Ukpe Roberts gained academic fame back at 9-years-old when she was found narrating her favorite folktale Lǎo Lǎo Tóu, in fluent Chinese.
Fast-forward four years later and the seventh-grader is now headed to study at Duke University for the summer. Invited to join the Duke University Talent Identification Program’s Talent search back in October, Roberts has been officially invited to study at the university as a part of their summer studies program, taking college-level classes, including finance, marketing, innovation, and more.
“Qualifying for Duke’s Summer Studies is such an amazing opportunity,” the Missouri City, Texas teen told BlackNews.com. “I’m hoping to gain skills in finance that will prepare me to own and operate my own animation studio one day.”
Every year, the DUKE TIP program identifies academically gifted students in the United States based on their outstanding standardized test scores. Only those that score in the 95th percentile qualify for the talent search and the students have to take the ACT or SAT exams.
“We are so proud of our daughter,” commented Noella’s father in the interview. “She has consistently worked hard at her academics and is extraordinarily focused and determined to make her dreams come true!”
Congratulations, Noella! We know that this is the beginning of amazing things to come. To follow Noella’s journey, visit her website here.
