The Kids Hall of Fame Inductees
19-Year-Old Extraordinary Achievers
ACTIVIST: CIVIL RIGHTS
David Isom, soon after graduating from high school, became the first and only Black person in the city’s segregated public swimming pool for “Whites Only”. Although David was treated as “any other citizen” by the person who sold him an entry ticket, and the 45 swimmers in the pool, he wasn’t, in the eyes of the laws, because he broke the segregation law. This resulted in the pool manager (who said he was acting on orders) closing the pool, draining and cleaning it, in hopes of sanitizing it, and then refilling it, because a Black person swam in it.
David explained his own view, “I feel that it’s not a privilege, just a right.” David’s bravery contributed to the freedoms we have today.
(Florida: 1958)
Illustrated by Danielle Alexander
ACTIVIST: EDUCATION
Malala Yousafzai (you-sahf-ZIGH), a Pakistani citizen, living in England, delivered a powerful, nearly an hour-long speech to the Canadian Parliament. Four of the many major points of her speech included:
One: Malala thanked them for granting her honorary Canadian citizenship to their “nation of heroes”. She explained, “Your motto and your stand, ‘Welcome to Canada,’ is more than a headline or a hashtag. It is the spirit of humanity that every single one of us would yearn for, if our family was in crisis.”
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, presented Malala with the certificate and a Canadian flag. He explained, “For bravely lending your voice to so many, we thank you.” Although Malala was granted the honor at age 17, the ceremony was postponed until this meeting, due to an unrelated shooting on Parliament Hill.
(Mingora, Swat, Pakistan: 2017)
Learn more…
ACTOR / ACTRESS
Leonardo DiCaprio earned his first of six Oscar nominations, for his performance in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?
(Los Angeles, California: 1993)
ACTOR / ACTRESS
Rupert Grint played the role of Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire which was release in 2007. Rupert explained, “After being in Harry Potter, I believe a bit more in magic than I did before.”
(Harlow, Essex, England: 2007)
ACTOR / ACTRESS
Christina Ricci performed as:
Val in 200 Cigarettes,
Lillian in No Vacancy, and
Katrina Van Tassel in Sleepy Hollow.
(Los Angeles, California: 1999)
ACTOR / ACTRESS
Yara Shahidi played the role of Natasha Kingsley in the film The Sun is Also a Star. For her acting work, Yara was nominated for the Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer Movie Actress.
Yara also played the role of Girlfriend in the film Detective Pikachu.
(Minneapolis, Minnesota: 2019)
Learn about Yara as:
– an actress: age 9, age 18
ACTOR / ACTRESS
Iman Vellani made her first-ever on-screen role debut as the title character in the Disney+ streaming TV mini-series, Ms. Marvel.
(Ontario, Canada: 2022)
Illustrate by Jake Reher
ADVOCATE: UNICEF
YOUTH ADVOCATE FOR UNICEF
Nicole Becker (Argentina: 2020)
Ismail Izzani (Malaysia: 2019)
Leoshina Mercedes Kariha (Papua, New Guinea: 2019)
Raba Khan (Bangladesh: 2018)
Sui Par (United States: 2021)
Alexander Reed also an LGBTQ+ and mental health advocate (Canada: 2020)
Junior Javier Bejar Roca, an actor (Peru: 2019)
Zakaat Sambo also supported child rights and gender equality. (Malawi: 2021)
Yu Xinwei for adolescent mental health (China: 2021)
AMBASSADOR:
HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
YOUTH AMBASSADOR FOR
THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
Joseph Reed (San Bernardino, California: 2021)
ARTIST / ILLUSTRATOR
Danielle Alexander was a second year university student studying fine arts when she started illustrating for The Kids Hall of Fame. She has always wanted to be an artist and has been finding ways to share her art since she was young. Since elementary school, Danielle has been finding and entering art contests, selling her work, and finding ways to share art with her community. She has painted a mural at her local school, designed a banner for her city’s parks, and also exhibited her work in galleries. She has won multiple awards throughout the years with her art. Danielle explains, “There are a lot of opportunities out there; it just takes courage to go out and take them.”
(Ontario, Canada: 2022)
Illustrated by Danielle Alexander
ATHLETE: EQUESTRIAN
Lara Prior-Palmer became the youngest, and the first woman to win the gold medal at the Mongol Derby, the world’s longest multi-horse race.
(United Kingdom: 2013)
Illustrated by Ray Russotto
ATHLETE: FENCER - WHEELCHAIR
Beatrice “Bebe” Vio won the gold medal in the individual foil B competition at the Paralympics in Rio. Bebe is the only athlete in the world to fence without her armed arm, which is the arm that holds the foil. Clutching her gold medal, Bebe (a quadruple amputee) explained, “You know, you have to believe in yourself. That’s my message to everyone. Believe and you can do great things.”
Bebe fell in love with fencing at age 5, but at age 11, contracted severe meningitis. To save her life, it was necessary to amputate both her legs from the knee and her arms from the forearm. Bebe, who considers herself lucky, because only four percent of those afflicted with that strain of meningitis survive, is a strong campaigner for people with impairments. She’s also a promoter of disability sports.
(Italy: 2017)
Illustrated by Jake Reher
Visit Bebe’s website.
ATHLETE: GOLFER
Tiger Woods won the U.S. Amateur Championship and tied 41st in the Masters Tournament, his first professional major championship, where he was the only amateur to make the cut. Tiger went on to become one of the most accomplished athletes of all time.
(Cypress, California: 1998)
Visit Tiger’s website.
ATHLETE: ICE HOCKEY PLAYER
Manon Rhéaume became the first woman to play in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). She joined the Draveur’s as a third-string goalie, but months passed before she got to play. Toward the end of the season, the starting goalie was injured, and his backup allowed too many goals to be scored. So, Coach Drapeau took a chance and put Manon in the game. As she skated to the net, the crowd gave Manon a standing ovation which turned her nervousness into confidence.
(Beauport, Quebec, Canada: 1991)
Illustrated by Jake Reher
Learn more…
ATHLETE: MOUNTAIN CLIMBER
Dicky Dolma became the youngest woman to climb to the top of Mt. Everest.
(India: 1993)
Illustrated by Alexandra Holliday
ATHLETE: SKIER
Justine Dufour-Lapointe won the gold medal in the moguls event at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. She was the youngest freestyle skiing female medalist.
(Canada: 2014)
ATHLETE: SOCCER PLAYER
Mia Hamm was the youngest team member in history to win the World Cup. During the first match, at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in China, she scored the game-winning goal, and led the team to victory. They won the semi-final against Germany, and took the first World Cup championship title after defeating Norway in the final. A few years later she brushed off off praise for her individual success, saying, “I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it, and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.”
(Chapel Hill, North Carolina: 1991)
Photo: Courtesy of Pass It On
Learn about Mia as:
– an athlete: soccer player: age 15
ATHLETE: SURFER
Frieda Zamba became the youngest female to win the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour Championship. She held that title/record for 27 years, until it was broken by 18-year-old Carissa Moore of the USA in 2011.
(Flagler Beach, Florida: 1984)
ATHLETE: SWIMMER
Kristof Milak, at a swimming world championship, beat Michael Phelps’ 18-year record in the 200-meter butterfly.
Michael Phelps explained, “It happened because there was a kid who wanted to do it, who dreamed of doing it, who figured out what it would take to do it, who worked on his technique until it was beautiful and who put in the really, really hard work that it takes to do it.”
(Hungary: 2019)
Illustrated by Ray Russotto
ATHLETE: TABLE TENNIS PLAYER
Deng Yaping won both singles and doubles in table tennis at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. She is considered one of the greatest table tennis players in history. From 1987 to 1997, she won eighteen world championships including four Olympic championships.
(Zhengzhou, Henan, China: 1992)
Illustrated by Elgin Bolling
Learn more…
AUTHOR: PUBLISHED BOOK
Christopher Paolini had his self-published novel, Eragon, republished by Alfred A. Knopf publishing company.
(Paradise Valley, Montana: 2002)
AUTHOR: PUBLISHED BOOK
AUTHOR: PUBLISHED BOOK
AUTHOR: PUBLISHED BOOK
Jennifer Rose, a writer on the autism spectrum, had her first book published, It’s Not A Perfect World But I’ll Take It: 50 Life Lessons For Teens Like Me Who Are Sort of (You Know) Autistic. Jennifer credits her hard work and dedication to writing, to her family, especially her father and paternal grandmother. Jennifer explains, “My father, a literary agent, inspired me to write every day of winter break, including weekends, and soon enough, the book was finally published…It details my life with autism and how difficult it was sometimes. It goes into detail about the treatments my family did for me, but most of the life lessons are more universal, in that anybody can relate to them.”
– Talk about your feelings, even when it’s hard.
– Down times will be bouncing up soon.
– But in the meantime, enjoy what you have.
– You can’t replicate a one-in-a-million moment.
– It’s not a perfect world, and sometimes you’re late for John Oliver.
Jennifer’s 136 page book, published by Skyhorse, ranked #1 on Amazon’s “Being a Teen” and was featured in Justine Magazine (Sept. 2016).
Publication of Jennifer’s second book, Manimal Crackers, is slated for late 2023.
(New Jersey: 2016)
Photo: Courtesy of Jennifer Rose
AUTHOR: PUBLISHED BOOK
Mary Shelley wrote the book Frankenstein, which was later published when she was 20 years old.
(London, England: 1818)
Illustration by, and courtesy of, Lucie Rice
AUTHOR: PUBLISHED BOOK
Haile Thomas had her first self-help cookbook, Living Lively, published with HarperCollins.
COACH: SWIMMING
Om Kumar Ojha started his professional career as a swimming coach.
(Purai-Durg, Chhattisgarh, India: 2022)
COLLEGE GRADUATE
Haley Taylor Schlitz became the youngest, ever, law school graduated from Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law in University Park, Texas. She graduated with a Juris Doctor degree (J.D.).
Haley also became the youngest, ever, African American law school graduate in the history of the United States. Haley, who graduated in three years, chose the Dedman School out of eight different law school acceptances.
Prior to attending Dedman, and after graduating from high school at age 13, Haley attended Texas Woman’s University. She graduated from there with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. (See column to the right for quotes by Haley.)
(Texas: 2022)
Photo: Courtesy of Haley Taylor Schlitz
Visit Haley’s website.
Learn about Haley as:
– an author: age 16
– a high school graduate: age 13
Haley Taylor Schlitz - Continued
Quotations from Haley Taylor Schlitz
“Society will lose out on the potential scientist who cures a major disease, the entrepreneur who starts the next Amazon and so much more. All because of their gender and/or skin color.”
~ ~ ~
“Standard K-12 education has not been updated, fundamentally, in a very long time. I would like to help amend that on a national and state-wide level.”
~ ~ ~
“You don’t walk any road alone. You can’t do anything by yourself. You stand on the shoulders of giants, and there are great trees in your forest. Listen to their wisdom and to the tools they are giving you.”
~~~
“Time management is key. Get your assignments in on time…but also schedule time for yourself and with your friends.”
~ ~ ~
“You don’t just find your path, you make it.”
~~~
“It’s hard to accept, but big change doesn’t happen overnight…Don’t expect to finish, even in your lifetime. Sometimes change takes generations.”
~~~
COLLEGE GRADUATE
Kennedy Ekezie was the youngest-ever student to graduate from Nigeria’s University of Calabar. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in philosophy.
(Nigeria: Africa: 2017)
Learn about Kennedy as:
– a founder: age 16
COLLEGE GRADUATE WITH PH.D.
Juliet Beni earned a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Riverside (UCR). This made her the youngest Ph.D. graduate in UCR history.
(Riverside, California: 2012)
Charles Homer Haskins received his Ph.D. in history from Johns Hopkins University.
(Meadville, Pennsylvania: 1890)
Norbert Wiener (born in Germany) earned his Ph.D., the youngest Ph.D. in Mathematical Logic, from Harvard University. His dissertation was on mathematical logic.
(Cambridge, Massachusetts: 1913)
EDUCATOR
Rae Green, a college student who is blind, uses her TikTok account to educate people about how to grocery shop while blind. Her serviceable video received over 2.3 million views on TikTok.
(2020)
EDUCATOR
Jui Khankari helps students of all ages explore artificial intelligence. Jui achieves this by virtual workshops, videos, and educational curriculum she created through AInspire, the non-profit she founded at age 16. By age 19, Jui, working through AInspire, served over 26,000 students in 91 countries and all 50 states.
(Hinsdale, Illinois: 2023)
Learn about Jui as:
– a founder: age 16
EDUCATOR
Gracie Marsh, who became blind at age 14, shared a video explaining how she operates her BrailleNote HumanWare Touch+ tablet. She demonstrates how it allows visually impaired people to read and write with easy. Gracie’s video received over 1.5 million TikTok and over 2.2 million Twitter views.
(England: 2020)
ENTREPRENEUR
Milton Hershey opened his first candy shop, using money he borrowed from his Aunt Mattie.
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 1876)
ENTREPRENEUR
FILM PRODUCER
Madison Stewart, known as Shark Girl, films sharks.
(Australia: 2012)
Illustrated by Jake Reher
FOUNDER
Alexandra Holiday explained, “When I was in college, I recognized the lack of community within my school. I also realized the disconnect between people and nature; people and financial literacy; people and living. I started Plant Sum, an organization to help fill this void. I hosted our first event to teach people how to plant from scratch and repot plants. About thirty people attended.”
(2022)
Story: Courtesy of Alexandra Holiday
FOUNDER / CO-FOUNDER
Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra cofounded Zepto, a quick commerce company, whose goal is to deliver grocery orders in 10 minutes, for customers in 11 cities in India.
(Dubai, India: 2021)
Illustrated by Kathan Dorriety
FOUNDER / CO-FOUNDER
Mark Zuckerberg co-founded the social networking website Facebook, in his Harvard University dorm room, along with Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz (19), Chris Hughes (20), and Eduardo Saverin (21).
(Cambridge, Massachusetts: 2004)
Learn about Mark as:
– a programmer: age 12
GAMER
Peng Chao achieved the level of Gold in the League of Legends video game. Although it’s an impressive achievement, especially when playing by using his feet, Peng told his friends, “There is still Diamond above Gold.”
(Panzhilua, China: 2014)
Illustrated by Ray Russotto
Learn more…
Toramaru Shibano won the Meijin Go player title. Go is an ancient Chinese strategy board game.
(Japan: 2019)
INVENTOR
Richard J. Barton invented the Lapotron, a submersible digital lap counter/timer for swimmers. The device automatically counts laps and times and displays the data for underwater swimmers.
(Gaithersburg, Maryland: 1999)
Illustrated by Jake Reher
INVENTOR
Blaise Pascal invented one of the first digital calculators. The goal behind his invention was to help his father, who was a mathematician and tax collector, with the tremendous number of mathematical calculations he needed to do each day.
Blaise named his invention the Pascaline. It consisted of a wooden box with sixteen dials on it. By rotating the dials, a person could quickly do simple addition and subtraction.
(France: 1642)
Illustrated by Jake Reher
INVENTOR
Ralph Samuelson invented water skis and the sport of water-skiing, which he did on Lake Pepin, near his home.
(Lake City, Minnesota: 1922)
Illustrated by Jake Reher
LIFESAVER / RESCUER
Josh Dixon (a former swim team member), with his neighbor’s help, saved the life of 14-year-old Seth De Luca, who had jumped from a pontoon boat into White Oak Lake.
(Germantown Hill, Illinois: 2016)
Ross C. Johnson, an eagle scout, saved a 13-year-old boy from drowning at Neptune Beach. The boy was then ambulanced to a nearby hospital. Later, when receiving the Lifesaving Award by the Neptune Beach City Council, Ross thanked all his scoutmasters through the years and explained “If it was not for the skills that I learned in Troop 136, I would not have been able to help that young man…I encourage you to have fun as you work hard. Pay close attention and learn all you can. The skills you learn on your journey throughout scouts will greatly help you in life.”
(San Marco, California: 2020)
MAYOR
John Tyler Hammons served as the 47th Mayor of Muskogee, Oklahoma from 2008-2010. He was re-elected and served a second term from 2010-2012. The population of Muskogee was 39,223.
(Muskogee, Oklahoma: 2008)
Illustrated by Ray Russotto
MAYOR
Brandon Paulin became the youngest person in Maryland’s state history to be elected mayor of Indian Head, population, approximately 4,000 people. Brandon explains, “I just decided to step up because I think I can implement some solutions to Indian Head’s problems.”
(Indian Head, Maryland: 2015)
Learn more…
Learn about Brandon as:
– an activist: age 10
MUSICIAN: SINGER/SONGWRITER
Shawn Mendes
(Ontario, Canada: 2017)
MUSICIAN: SINGER
Elvis Presley recorded his first hit “That’s All Right”, which he did at Sun Records in Memphis, which is now a museum.
(Memphis, Tennessee: 1954)
NEWSCASTER
Oprah Winfrey became Nashville’s youngest and first female African American television news anchor (reporter) at WLAC-TV. She also became co-anchor for the six o’clock news at WJZ-TV of Baltimore.
(Nashville, Tennessee: 1973)
Learn about Oprah as:
– a newscaster: age 17
PATENTEE
George Westinghouse was granted a patent for a rotary steam engine.
(Schenectady, New York: 1985)
PHILANTHROPIST
Isabel Bercaw and her 18-year-old sister, Caroline Bercaw, very successful entrepreneurs since their beginning teenage years, believe in “giving back”. They have donated over $100,000 from the sales of their popular Earth Boom product, to The Water Project, which provides clean drinking water to underprivileged communities in Africa.
(Minneapolis, Minnesota: 2020)
Visit Isabel’s and Caroline’s website.
Learn about Isabel as:
– an entrepreneur: age 12, age 13
– a millionaire: age 18
– a visionary: age 11
POLITICIAN
Mary-Pat Hector ran for Councilwoman of Stonecrest, DeKalb County, Georgia, while a sophomore at Spelman College. She was the youngest woman and person of color to run for public office in the state of Georgia. Mary-Pat said, “So many time, people just think that young people can’t govern, and they can.” She lost by only 22 votes.
Illustrated by Danielle Alexander
Visit Mary-Pat’s website.
Learn about Mary-Pat as:
– a speaker: age 19 (below)
POLITICIAN
Max Prestigiacomo became the youngest elected official in the US and the youngest ever to serve on the Madison Common Council. He also became one of the first LGBTQ candidates ever elected in the city.
(Madison, Wisconsin: 2020)
PROFESSOR
Colin Maclaurin, one of Isaac Newton’s students, was appointed Professor of Mathematics at the Marischal College, Aberdeen. At that time, he was considered the world’s youngest professor. That record was broken by 18-year-old Alia Sabur of New York.
(Glendaruel, Argyll: 1717)
Illustrated by Danielle Alexander
SOCIAL MEDIA STAR /
INTERNET CELEBRITY
JT Casey achieved a following of 4.3 million TikTok. He is known for his lip syncing and dancing.
(California: 2022)
Derrick Cummings (Famous Debo) achieved a social media following of over 1.3 million on Instagram and 609 thousand on YouTube. He is known for his comedy videos and singing on his Instagram account. He shares his YouTube account with his singing partner, Chris Gone Crazy.
(Chicago, Illinois: 2022)
Kaylee Halko achieved a social media following of 320 thousand on TikTok and 170 thousand on Instagram.
(Ohio: 2022)
Mads Lewis achieved a social media following of over 12.6 million on TikTok, 6.9 million on Instagram, and 1.1 million on Twitter.
(Phoenix, Arizona: 2021)
Payton Moormeier achieved a social media following of 15 million on TikTok, 4.8 million on Instagram, and 1.4 million on YouTube. On TikTok he posts comedic lip syncs and dance videos. His self-titled YouTube channel features his music. He is known for his video-editing skills and his special effects on his videos. Payton became a verified TikTok user at age 13.
(St. Marys, Georgia: 2022)
SOCIAL MEDIA STAR /
INTERNET CELEBRITY
Sebastian Moy achieved a social media following of 10.5 million on TikTok, 1.7 million on Instagram, and 772 thousand on YouTube. On TikTok he has 414 million Likes. On YouTube he has had over 30 million views. He is known for his comic videos as well as his singing.
(Florida: 2022)
Mattia Polibio achieved a social media following of 5.2 million on TikTok, 896 thousand on Instagram, 285 thousand on YouTube, and 342 thousand on Twitter. On TikTok, Mattia’s posts mostly feature lip-syncs, comedy skits, duet videos, lifestyle comments, and mini video blogs about day-to-day activities.
(Totowa, New Jersey: 2022)
Alejandro Rosario achieved a following of 5 million on TikTok and 1.1 million on Instagram. On TikTok he mainly posts comedy, vlogs, life videos, etc. On Instagram he posts fashion looks selfies etc.
(New Jersey: 2022)
SOCIAL MEDIA STAR /
INTERNET CELEBRITY
Ana Sobonja achieved a following of 2.8 million on TikTok. The video Ana posted, of her dancing to Erica Banks’s “Buss It”, was viewed more than 1 million times.
(Zagreb, Croatia: 2022)
Jennifer Tran achieved a media following of 850 thousand on TikTok and 310 thousand on Instragram.
(Canada: 2022)
Jack Wright achieved a social medial following of 11 million on TikTok, 1.4 million on Instagram and 321 thousand on YouTube. He is famous for his dancing, facial expressions and general entertainment.
(California: 2022)
SPEAKER
Mary-Pat Hector, since age 12, has delivered over 319 presentations to more than 50,000 students in 42 different states.
See “Politician” category above.
William Kamkwamba delivered a TEDGlobal talk in which he explained how he designed and built an electricity-generating windmill at age 14.
(Malawian Village, Africa: 2016)
Learn about William as:
– a designer and builder: age 14
SPEAKER
Barack Obama gave his first political, public speech (as “street theater”) while a student at Occidental College in California. He was protesting South African Apartheid, a unique system of racial discrimination/segregation. As planned, two white students, dressed in paramilitary uniforms, dragged Barack off before he finished. The act was to dramatize what often happened to South African activists. A commemorative plaque is displayed in that plaza. Years later in his bestselling memoir, Dreams From My Father, Barack explained, “…a part of me wasn’t acting, I really wanted to stay up there…I had so much left to say.”
Barack began to realize that people listened to his opinions, and that he could make a difference in the world. Barack went on to become the 44th president of the United States (serving two terms from 2009-2017) and was the first African-American to serve in that role.
(California: 1981)
Illustrated by Jake Reher
SPEAKER
Nick Vujicic conducted his first motivational speaking engagement, which went beyond speaking to his church groups at age 17. Nick did not let being born without limbs stop him from creating a happy and productive life for himself and others. Nick shares the fact that he tried to commit suicide at age 10, and explains, “Just because you come to a point where you can’t see the road around the corner, does not mean there is no road there. Faith is believing in what you cannot see…I am so glad I am still here. Sometimes all you can see are broken pieces, but don’t give up because you don’t know what miracles can come from your broken pieces, until you give your broken pieces a chance.”
(Australia: 2001)
Illustrated by Jiani Ma
Visit Nick’s website.
Learn about Nick as:
– a speaker: age 17
SPEAKER: SHARK TANK
Sofia Overton, founder of Wise Pocket Socks, gave her presentation on Shark Tank.
(Solana Beach, California: 2020)
SPEAKER: SHARK TANK
Tania Speaks, founder of Tania Speaks Organic Skincare, gave her presentation on Shark Tank.
(Baltimore City, Maryland: 2022)
Visit Tania’s website.
SPEAKER: SHARK TANK
SURVIVOR
George DeLong immediately responded to “All hands man your battle stations!” His quick reactions helped save his life and the lives of many other sailors aboard the USS Oklahoma, which had just been torpedoed during World War II. Not everyone onboard survived. Years later when sharing his dramatic life-saving experience from the Japanese attack, George explained, “I don’t feel any ill will towards them. They were just doing their job.”
(Lancaster, Pennsylvania: 1941)
Photo & Story: Courtesy of George’s granddaughter, Jennifer Rose
Learn more…
VISIONARY
Mary Jane Patterson envisioned herself achieving what other Black women had not yet achieved by the mid 1800s – graduating from college with a Bachelor of Arts degree. After completing a year of preparatory coursework at Oberlin College, Mary Jane (the daughter of a former slave) transitioned into its four-year degree program for gentlemen, which included mathematics, Latin, and Greek rather than the two-year diploma program for ladies. Mary Jane knew, that with perseverance, she would achieve her goal and she did, with highest honors in 1862. She also gave one of the graduation speeches.
Mary Jane went on to become a teacher. Then in 1871, she was appointed the first black principal at the Preparatory High School For Colored Youth, in Washington, D.C., America’s first public high school for Blacks.
(Oberlin, Ohio: 1857)
Illustration: Courtesy of Hatice Bayramoglu (illustrator) and Quineka Ragsdale (author) of Perseverance: The Story of Mary Jane Patterson, and Louie T. McClain II, Founder/CEO of Melanin Origins Children’s Books