photo courtesy of WBNS-TV
A high schooler who spent nearly a decade in a Ugandan refugee camp, Julianne Lukambo finished her senior year of high school with hundreds of thousands in scholarships and acceptance from over ten universities. As reported by WBNS-TV, Lukambo was born in Congo, and her family was forced to flee her home country to Uganda, where she spent her time as a refugee until 2015.
Lukambo attended Northland High School in Columbus, Ohio, and was able to maintain excellent grades and relationships with those around her. During her time in high school, Lukambo wants to attend the University of Dayton and major in computer sciences.
By the end of her four years, her efforts earned her the valedictorian of her class. The Ugandan refugee earned $240,000 in scholarships from different universities. Lukambo expressed the disbelief she felt when tallying up the total amount amassed.
“I was kind of surprised because I wasn’t like keeping count of the amount, but I think first of all, I did keep my grades up throughout my entire time in high school. That’s something that helped me a lot,” She said, “And also, I would say getting involved, networking, and branching out. It really helps you a lot with getting recommendations and having them [teachers] recommend you for different scholarships.”
Lukambo continued to explain that she feels eternally grateful for being able to succeed as she has despite her unconventional journey.
“Overcoming the adversity that I have had to overcome to reach where I am today has been a real challenging journey, and I would say that from coming from where I’m from to here now, I would’ve never expected it, so overcoming all of that is something I’m really grateful for and proud of.”