Denton ISD Our Impact In Your Community Magazine Summer 2016 | Page 11

Adinawa, seen here
posing in the Denton
High School library, plans
to attend Harvard and
major in economics
and computer science.
She hopes to use her
degrees to help people
in underdeveloped
countries.

a very strong motivational drive that can
sometimes be lacking in students,” Mrs. Hughes
said. “She asks a lot of good questions if she
doesn’t know about something, and she
always respects the views of others. She’s
not the kind of person who’s afraid to admit
someone else may be right, and I think her
mentality on how to better herself is a big
reason why she’s so successful in everything
she does.”
One of Adinawa’s strongest attributes is
that she doesn’t just want to better herself
– she wants to better everyone else as well,
especially those who need the most help.
An example of Adinawa’s commitment to
others can be seen in her goals for the future.
She plans to major in economics and computer
science, which she hopes to use to benefit
underdeveloped countries, such as Benin and
its neighbors.
Adinawa cites the example her parents, Dr.
Paulin Adjagbodjou and Colette Tinkpon,
placed on education as a major reason for her
goal of helping others.
“They left Benin because they wanted more
opportunities for us; the educational system
over there isn’t as strongly funded as it is in
the U.S.,” she said. “That’s why I want to give

back. I believe developmental economics
can make a systemic change to benefit an
entire population.”
Thanks to her hard work and the support of
her parents, Adinawa actually won’t have to
worry about economics for a while – not for
herself, that is. She’s received several local and
national scholarships, including the prestigious
Gates Millennium and Ron Brown scholarships,
among others. The Gates scholarship can
fully pay for up to 10 years of post-secondary
education, while the Brown scholarship
provides up to $10,000 per year over four years
for other educational expenses.
When Adinawa arrives for classes at Harvard in
the spring, she’ll work toward her future dreams
with the benefit of knowing she’s already
achieved one lofty dream.
“I definitely didn’t think I was going to get
into [seven Ivy League schools],” she said. “It
would be a dream to get into any Ivy League
school. I wanted to challenge myself after all
the hard academic work I’ve put in, and all
extracurricular work – I wanted to see where it
could get me.”
If history is any indication so far, Adinawa is just
getting started.
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