Brains, Biology, and Basketball-What a combination?

This month’s featured student is Jallon Williams of the CAL academy.

This 17 year-old senior has a cumulative GPA of 3.96 and is currently ranked 10th in his graduating class.  He also scored a 1800 on his first try taking the SAT. Jallon was born in Northridge , California on December 3, 1997, where he would begin his career of academic excellence. Jallon is proud to be both African-American and Indian, and embraces both of his ethnic backgrounds and the cultures associated with them. This college-bound student is taking three AP classes in his senior year—a time when most seniors plan to breeze by, “I really wanted to challenge myself, plus it looks really good when applying to universities.” Speaking of colleges, Jallon has his eye on UC San Diego where he has interests in earning a bachelor’s degree in either business or biology.

There is an abundant amount of exceptional high schools in the San Fernando Valley, yet Jallon chose BCCHS stating that “Birmingham is a great school. The campus is clean and nicer than most other high schools. The teachers are friendly and approachable, which helps me further my education.” Jallon is clearly keen on earning a college preparatory high school education, and he talked about what qualities make a good and successful high school student, “Students need to be hard-working and determined in order to succeed. Everything should be done with some amount of effort. Students also need to learn to be patient and studious when it comes to studying for quizzes and tests.” Jallon also loves his AP Environmental class because he “enjoys  learning about the environment and how to solve problems surrounding global warming.” When Jallon decides to earn his bachelor’s degree in biology, he will be able to address these issues.

Aside from school, Jallon is a regular teenage American boy, “I love to play basketball, especially at the park with my friends. Reading is also a hobby of mine that I really enjoy.” His advice for seniors is ideal for success, “Don’t slack off, try to do things out of your comfort zone, and get your priorities straight.” But where does Jallon draw his motivation and impressive work ethic from? “There’s this quote by Nikos Kanzantzakis, a Greek writer, in which he says, ‘In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.’ I believe in believing success!”

Remember, you could be Birmingham’s Featured Student next! Just keep up the good work, and go above and beyond what is expected.