This Eagle has landed.
A soon-to-graduate Bronx high school student was accepted to a whopping 21 colleges.
And he knows exactly where he’s going.
Brenton James, the valedictorian of the Eagle Academy for Young Men in the Bronx, has decided to attend the University of Pennsylvania, becoming the school’s first student to enroll in an Ivy League college, school officials told the Daily News.
“It was a tough decision, but I’m confident in my choice,” the 17-year-old said, noting that Penn and a second Ivy League school that also accepted him, Cornell, were at the top of his list.
“I feel excited about it,” James said. “It’s surreal.”
He said he visited both Cornell and Penn, but selected the Philadelphia school because of its city atmosphere.
James was also accepted to Syracuse University, the University of Virginia and numerous SUNY and CUNY schools, the school said.
“They’ve been preparing us for college since day one,” James said of the Eagle Academy.
The school opened in the Bronx in 2004, with a focus on improving the graduation rate among young men of color.
“The entire Eagle family is so proud of Brenton James, who embodies what the Eagle mission is all about,” said David Banks, president of the Eagle Academy Foundation.
The Eagle Academy started off in the Bronx, but now operates schools in Brooklyn, Queens, Harlem and Newark, N.J.
The 2014 class has a 100% college acceptance rate, a school spokeswoman said.
James praised his teachers, but said it was his single mother, a Jamaican immigrant, who stressed the importance of college.
“Education was the one thing that she pushed for us,” James said, adding that his brother also graduated from college. “She’s excited that I got into an Ivy League School,” he added. “Now, she can brag about it.”
James, who will address his graduating class of about 75 students this week, is hoping to see future Eagle students follow his tracks.
“I’m glad I get to be that role model to show students that anything is possible,” he said. “I want to come back next year, and see how many students are going to be Ivy Leaguers.”
The graduation ceremony is set for 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at Hostos Community College in the Bronx.
