Yvonne Agyapong, the daughter of Assin Central Member of Parliament Kennedy Agyapong, was the center of attention during her Union Catholic, UC, High School graduation in New Jersey, United States of America.
Aside from receiving her diploma on a sunny afternoon, the young Agyapong was one of two valedictorians, giving a speech that enthralled the audience and inspired the graduating class of 2022.
For her achievements at the elite American college, she received four subject-specific prizes and two school accolades.
Best in Social Studies, Spanish, Mathematics, and English were among the subject accolades.
She and Michael Palacio were co-winners of 'The School Consultative Board Award,' for which they each received individual plaques before she was. She and Michael Palacio were co-winners of 'The School Consultative Board Award,' for which they both got individual plaques, before she was requested to additionally accept 'The General Excellence' Award.
At the ceremony, the Agyapong family was well-represented. Kennedy Agyapong and his wife, as well as Yvonne's two older sisters and an older brother, and several members of the Ghanaian community in attendance, were overjoyed.
The Yale-bound Agyapong said in a LIVE video webcast by the Announcer Newspaper that she had been accepted into 15 Ivy League colleges but had decided to pursue higher education at Yale.
She encouraged the Class of 2022 to never lose faith in themselves in her speech. "I want you to leave this lawn today with the courage and inner fortitude to flip the world completely upside down, no matter what you do or how difficult it may be."
"You have 167 students who are looking forward to seeing you accomplish it." With that, I'll leave you with this piece of advise for the journey ahead: life will always be worth living, but it may not always be worth loving, so I hope you can love every version of yourself along the way. It has been an honor to chat with you all once again. 'My heartiest congrats to the Class of 2022!' she said.