DEFYING THE DOUBTERS
Trenton High student receives full ride to Princeton University, city group puts academic achievement on display
TRENTON » Growing up in a single-parent, low-income household, Faith Iloka was told by some doubters that her likely path after high school was community college.
“My goal from the beginning was that I wanted to go straight into a university,” the 17-year-old Trenton Central High School graduate said Monday, noting the naysayers drove her to succeed. “The one thing I promised my mom was that I would end up at a university and she wouldn’t have to pay any money.”
Not only did Iloka follow through on that promise, she was accepted to a university that is one of the most prestigious in the world. Iloka, who immigrated to the U.S. from Nigeria when she was 7, will attend Princeton University this fall on a full scholarship.
Iloka, who was valedictorian of her class with an almost unheard-of 4.273 GPA, attributes her success to her teachers and the environment at Trenton Central High School.
“I feel like the school is very underrated to what it has to offer,” Iloka said. “Trenton High has a good environment for students who are willing to actually take advantage of the resources made available to them. The school offers a lot of resources for the students. It’s just up to them to pursue them.”
Iloka was a student at Trenton Central High School’s Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) community, where she participated in drama and community outreach programs.
“I was able to get a lot of mentors through VPA as well,” she said.
When Iloka was a freshman, she was accepted into the Princeton University Preparatory Program, a summer program for lowerincome, high-achieving kids to get them ready for college.
“That program exposed me to the environment and the higher learning institutions,” she said, adding it also helped with testing.
During her junior year in Trenton,, Iloka applied to 11 schools, including Princeton and two other Ivy League schools. She lumped the Ivy League schools into her “least likely” category of schools that would accept her.
Iloka admits Princeton was not her top choice, but she decided to check online if she was accepted to Princeton first over the Brown University and University of Pennsylvania.
“I was surprised that I was really happy, because for me, I always expressed to everyone that I didn’t want to go to Princeton,” she said. “Seeing that acceptance, it was like, ‘Definitely, I am going here.’ At the end of the day, I do like the school. I do like what they have to offer me.”
Iloka, who was accepted to six other schools, was wait-listed at Brown and rejected by UPenn.
Coming from a low-income background, financial aid was Iloka’s biggest priority so when Princeton offered her a full-ride scholarship, it was really a nobrainer.
Iloka said she overcame her parent’s separation to get to where she is, even though some outsiders told her she would not be able to “become anything” because of the situation.
“Because she’s a woman, her kids won’t be able to be successful,” Iloka, who is the youngest of five children raised by her mom, said is one of the sexist comments she would hear.
“And because she’s a woman and without their father, her kids won’t amount to anything,” is another one.
Iloka, who will major in psychology and minor in theater at Princeton, said this is why she took “advantage of everything that Trenton had to offer.”
“I was fortunate enough to have a supportive family,” she said. “Despite everything that we went through, they still encouraged me and they were always there to push me to keep going further.”
Iloka also kept herself busy to stay away from any bad influences.
“I was never really influenced to go out on the streets just because I had so many programs that I was doing,” she said. “Growing up in the church helped me stay off a wayward path.”
As for current Trenton students, Iloka has some advice.
“Always challenge yourself and never let others’ perception of who you are, make you who you are,” she said. “Never let your circumstance define you. Always make it a point to challenge yourself and live life based on what you believe you can achieve.”
Iloka’s accomplishments and the achievements of some of her peers did not go unnoticed.
Two billboards put up by the S.E.E.D. program’s “Heal the City” project, in conjunction with Investors Bank, highlight Trenton Central High School Students inducted into the National Honor Society. The billboards, which appear on Perry Street near the International Charter School of Trenton and on East State Street near P.J. Hill School, feature Iloka and other city students who are honored for their achievements.
Stacy Heading, program director of S.E.E.D and founder of Heal the City, said the intentions of the billboards are to let people know “it’s cool to be smart.”
“Our young people need to know the importance of education, and there are people right here in our community that are displaying it,” Heading said. “We wanted to place the billboards next to schools to inspire our young people.”
Founded in 2013, Heal the City has a billboard in each of the city’s four wards.
“We are arming our community with tools they can use to improve the conditions in which they live, propel their children into academic success and break the cycle of ignorance and poverty,” Heading said. “These may seem to be small changes, but every small step makes a big difference.”
Iloka said it brings a smile to her face when she passes the two billboards that she is displayed on.
“It’s great to see me and my fellow classmates being awarded for our hard work,” the incoming Princeton University freshman said. “I think that’s why I really appreciate Trenton because they make it a priority to really recognize the students who are working to achieve greatness. It shows your accomplishments and your hard work is paying off and it is for something.”