Chijioke Mgbahurike migrated to the U.S. from Nigeria when he was 8 years old. Although he spoke English, he was struggling to read and adjust to a new country. He nearly failed the third grade and cannot recall making a single friend during his first year in the US.
That summer, Mgbahurike decided he would master reading. He spent eight hours a day, nearly every day, at the library at the local public library he discovered near his family’s apartment in Arlington.
He read every book he could find, from the Percy Jackson series, which he loved, to the Curse of the Bologna Sandwich, which he did not.
“I found a love of books,” he said. “I became addicted to reading. I stayed up late reading. I got in trouble for reading at church.
“But once that explosion of reading happened, everything changed.”
Mgbahurike carried that passion for learning forward and will graduate this weekend from the STEM Academy at Arlington Martin High School. He plans to study computer science at Stanford University, where he was awarded a full scholarship.
The senior also received a $40,000 scholarship from Amazon’s Future Engineer program, which aims to help underserved students advance their education in computer science and diversify the technology industry.
Mgbahurike’s parents moved to the U.S. to give their children more opportunities, he said. His parents both work as home health nurse aides, and Mgbahurike is the second-youngest of five children.
Growing up, Mgbahurike’s mother would tell him about children from Africa who went on to study at elite universities in the U.S. and achieve great success.
“I would tell her that’s just one in a billion. That won’t be me. But she told me if I work hard enough, I can make it happen.”
Chijioke Mgbahurike
When she learned Stanford had awarded him a full scholarship, he said his mother wept and jumped for joy in their apartment.
Mgbahurike credits the STEM Academy at Martin with helping him achieve his goals.
When he started as a freshman, Mgbahurike said for the first time he was surrounded by like-minded people who were passionate about science and curious about the world.
“I learned what was possible,” he said.E
Jennifer Rothwell, an advanced English teacher at Martin, taught Mgbahurike throughout high school.
“It’s truly amazing to see all of his goals from years ago come to fruition,” Rothwell said in a news release. “I always knew he had so much potential because he was the only student that didn’t just want to excel in school. He wanted to understand life, and I wish every student possessed that type of insight.”
Mgbahurike says he wants to eventually use computer science to create a sustainable technology to protect the environment.
He also wants to send assistance to his family’s ancestral village in Nigeria, adding that he would like to fund scholarships for young Nigerians to come to the U.S. while also developing more opportunities in his home country.
“How many lives could have been improved if people had simply been given the opportunity?” he said. “My life experience has taught me that success is about Opportunity. I believe it is my moral obligation to help give others the same opportunities.”
Chiojioke is a clear embodiment of the relentless possibilities that comes with self-education and hard work. It’s always to see an African teenager going for gold true and true.
