Whiz Kid: Fordson Valedictorian Heads to College with Full Scholarship

Name: Mariam Abdulghani

Age: 18

School:

Accomplishment: As Mariam Abdulghani cleans out her locker at Fordson High School, she'll leave the school with a 4.4 grade point average, a lot of memories, and a positive outlook toward heading to college in the fall.

Abdulghani–who was named valedictorian at Fordson–will attend the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in September. She is the winner of the highly competitive William Brehm Scholarship, which covers all costs associated with obtaining a bachelor’s degree and the costs of medical school, if the winner is accepted to medical school.

“I was really happy to be named valedictorian because I worked so hard in school,” said Abdulghani, who has spent her entire educational career in Dearborn.

Key to awesomeness: Abdulghani said there is no secret formula behind her success at school–she worked hard, paid attention and did everything she could to make sure she would be in a good position to go to college.

Abdulghani took several advanced placement courses to give her a head start in college, and said an important part of her success was the commitment of her teachers at Fordson.

“My teachers were excellent,” she said. “They taught me study methods and other strategies that helped make me more successful.”

Mariam said that her favorite course in school–not surprisingly–is science. After she earns a bachelor’s degree, she does intend to apply to medical school in the hopes of becoming a pediatrician.

Abdulghani’s principal, Youssef Mosallam, is confident he will see Abdulghani in a white coat someday.

“Mariam Abdulghani is a student that works extremely hard at whatever she does and, at the same time, never requests any type of special treatment or seeks to be the center of attention,” he said. “Mariam has earned the designation of valedictorian and the William Brehm Scholarship in the most humble and modest fashion that emulates her dedication to her education.”

In addition to her studies, Mariam played tennis at Fordson, and is a member of the National Honor Society.

It’s June, and graduation is in the air. That means Dearborn Patch is going to highlight each valedictorian on Wednesdays all month.

But being at the top of the heap is not the only factor that makes a Whiz Kid, and if you know a student who is working hard to make the grade at school–or in life–we’d like to know about it. Everyone deserves a little attention, and we want to tell these stories.

Email your Whiz Kid nominations to Editor Jessica Carreras at Jessica.carreras@patch.com. Please include the name, age, school, achievement and key to awesomeness, as well as a photo. Then come back every Wednesday for our Whiz Kid spotlight. You never know who may be smiling at you from the computer screen.