Trinity Asberry, a talented student from Texas, broke the school’s 20-year old record and became the first black valedictorian in its history.
In Rusk, Wyoming, Trinity Asberry graduated from Rusk High School.
She claimed to have worked very hard in her studies to receive the valedictorian award for the entire graduating class after graduating first in her class.
In addition to achieving her objective, Trinity made history by being the first Black student in the history of her high school to hold the position, breaking a 20-year old record.
“The first thing I did when I found out is I called all my family members, ‘Hey I’m valedictorian!’ My grandma told me, ‘Hey I think you might have made history, I’ve been here a long time and I’ve never heard that happen,’’ she said.
She claimed that she started looking into Rusk High’s past right once because it was the only high school in the Rusk Independent School District, but she was unable to find any staff members or local newspapers to corroborate her suspicions.
“They didn’t have the resources to tell me that information. So we checked with the NAACP and they couldn’t find that information as well so we did a lot of research with community members and alumni from Rush HS,” she explained.
20-year old record breaker
Trinity claimed that after doing some research, she was able to confirm with the Board of Educators and other sources that she was, in fact, Rush High School’s first Black valedictorian.
George Andrew Asberry, Trinity’s father, expressed his delight at his daughter’s accomplishment.
“That feeling was like wow you’re special, I mean you’re the first in Rusk…that’s history. I’m so proud of her and I probably tell her a hundred times,” she said.
George claimed that Trinity’s late mother, who went away when Trinity was just in elementary school, was a big inspiration to her.
He continued by saying that her mother laid the groundwork, and after she went away, he did his best to uphold it.
“When Trinity lost her mom, I thought that the best thing I could do was make her situation comfortable and that’s what I did. I made her first priority, I put my personal life in the back burner and made sure she had everything she needed. She had me, her grandmother, her aunt, and her teachers – all of those people were instrumental for helping her to get where she is,” he said.
Trinity stated that she intends to continue her studies by enrolling in Texas Southern University’s pre-nursing programme with the intention of moving to the University of Houston in the United States after two years to finish her bachelor’s degree in nursing.
Father and son graduate from the same US university on the same day, sets record
Meanwhile, a father and son both earned honours degrees from South Carolina State University in the United States on the same day.
Both Antoni Gathers, the father, and Brandon Gathers, the son, received their degrees from South Carolina State University in the United States.
Antonio, 49, earned a master’s degree in psychology or rehabilitation counselling.
