More News

When Sam Yirenkyi, varsity wrestling team captain at Parkdale High School in Riverdale, discovered last year he had scoliosis, he simply kept on wrestling.

"My back, it does hurt. And I have to wear a brace for 20 hours a day," he said. "I just take it off when I wrestle."

That same determination surfaced throughout Yirenkyi's academic career: the senior graduated Tuesday in the top 5 percent of his class and will be the first in his family to attend college, thanks to a full scholarship to attend the University of Maryland, College Park.

Yirenkyi of Landover is one of eight Prince George's County students accepted into the University of Maryland Incentive Awards Program, which provides four-year scholarships for students who have high academic ability, show extraordinary persistence despite obstacles and have a great need for financial assistance.

Yirenkyi's guidance counselor, Joseph Pham, nominated him for the scholarship.

"This is a chance for a student that's first generation and low-income to go college on a full scholarship. He came to mind," Pham said. "Throughout the years I've known him, he's always been in here, asking, ‘Mr. Pham, how am I doing? What classes do I need?' He's always on top of his game as far as his education, and as a result of his persistence, he's wanting to do the best."

Yirenkyi said he has always been focused on schoolwork, even though he has been on the wrestling team since freshman year.

"I didn't take my schoolwork as a joke," he said. "I've known how important it is to my future."

Yirenkyi's father, Samuel Tiemo, said he brought his family to the United States from Ghana in 1999 for better educational opportunities.

But Tiemo, a retired security guard, said he was worried his son would not be able to go to college because he could not afford it. So the news of the scholarship came as a welcome surprise.

"I feel so great," Tiemo said. "God has helped him, for him to have a chance. I think it's made me happier than him."

Although college has always been a goal for Yirenkyi, he said the scholarship is helping to make it a reality.

"I really don't know what I'd do if it weren't for the scholarship," he said.

Before Yirenkyi starts classes in the fall, he will need a major surgery, called spinal fusion, to address his scoliosis. It will leave him with metal rods in his back.

But he has already spoken with the university's wrestling coach and looks forward to trying out for the team, all while studying electrical engineering.

"I'm worried because the level, it's going to be harder in college," Yirenkyi said. "But I'll be able to handle it."

E-mail Elahe Izadi at eizadi@gazette.net.