<p>Many high school students put together a list of safety or backup schools when applying to colleges. These are the schools that a student believes are sure bets in case they are rejected by their dream school. Adanma Ekeledo’s safety schools were Boston College, Cornell and Stanford - top schools for most.</p>
<p>“They were great schools, but for me it’s always been one school and that was Harvard,” Ekeledo said in her normal soft-spoken tone. “When I visited, I just knew I had to go there. But I’m a little superstitious so I wasn’t sure if I’d it get in. It was a tough wait.”</p>
<p>Ekeledo’s trepidation was evident after a midseason practice when she cautiously asked Stratford basketball coach Ed Smith for time off from practice for an interview with Harvard officials.</p>
<p>The player walked up to Smith after a practice and asked if she could miss the next day’s workout. Smith asked for what, and Ekeledo said she had a college interview. He asked which school she was meeting with and she replied Harvard.</p>
<p>Smith deadpanned: “I guess you can go.” “You don’t get that request everyday,” he said with a smile to those standing around. “It’s funny she even had to ask…”</p>
<p>Ekeledo, The Telegraph’s 2006 Martha Pennyman Scholar Athlete of the Year, was accepted to Harvard after excelling as an athlete and a student this season…</p>
<p>“As good as she is out there on the basketball court, she’s twice as good in the classroom,” Smith said after the Eagles won their second straight title in February. “It’s rare, if ever, that you find a combination of intelligence and athletic ability as she has.”</p>
<p>Between balancing sports and school, Ekeledo finds time to play the guitar - which she did at Stratford’s graduation - and reading classical and modern literature. “She’s a pretty amazing person,” Stratford soccer coach Mike White said. “She does so much and she does it all great. I imagine some of that comes from her parents (Mary and Brown), who are two of the most brilliant individuals I’ve met…”</p>
<p>“You have to be prepared and you have to find a way to fight through obstacles,” said Ekeledo, who likely will major in pre-medicine. “But I know I’m about to have the biggest test of my life. I hope the way I approached high school will help me at Harvard. But truthfully, I’m a little scared.”</p>
<p>White laughed off that notion. “Whatever she does in life, she’ll be successful,” he said. “I couldn’t imagine her ever failing.”</p>
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