Far too often young black kids grow up viewing entertainment and sports as their only means to strike it big as a productive member of society.
Carving out a lane as a neurologist, lawyer or business entrepreneur will never gain you a worldwide following or a shoe deal, however examples such as these should stand as a living testament to what “making it” really looks like. Check out the details on the Wade family’s incredible story.
Nick, Nigel, Zach and Aaron Wade of Liberty Township, Ohio, were accepted at both Harvard and Yale, as well as several other top universities. Nick got into Duke and Georgetown. Aaron could count Stanford among his options. Zach was accepted at Cornell, and Nigel at Johns Hopkins and Vanderbilt. And that doesn’t even cover the full list.
Ultimately, though, all four decided to accept Yale’s offer, according to NBC News, which reported the brothers’ choice Monday. Nick Wade confirmed the decision to The Washington Post with an email that said: “We’re all heading to Yale!” “Yale won,” their father, Darrin Wade, told NBC. “They made the best offer, and it was the benchmark for my sons.”
The four teens, who previously showed The Post digital copies of admission letters and notifications, attend Lakota East High School, about 30 miles from Cincinnati. “The outcome has shocked us,” Aaron Wade told The Post in April. “We didn’t go into this thinking, ‘Oh, we’re going to apply to all these schools and get into all of them.’ It wasn’t so much about the prestige or so much about the name as it was — it was important that we each find a school where we think that we’ll thrive and where we think that we’ll contribute.”
NBC reports that financial aid played a role in the siblings’ decision. Via the network:Yale offered all four brothers from Liberty Township, Ohio, an “extraordinary” financial aid package, which no other college could beat. It was an easy decision for 18-year-old Nick, Zach and Nigel Wade. “The school treated us like family,” said Nigel the night before Deadline Day.
According to the network, Aaron struggled with his choice. He told NBC that he visited Stanford and loved the school. “But at the end of the day, Yale made sense logistically — and it’s an amazing school,” Aaron told NBC. “I don’t regret my decision even though right now it kind of feels like a sacrifice.” Darrin Wade works for General Electric, while his wife, Kim, is a school principal. The couple, who were initially told that they were expecting twins, have been thinking about this for some time, Darrin Wade said this year.
Both the kids and parents deserve a giant salute for the excellence in this truly remarkable story. The Wade family embodies “The American Dream” coming from such humble beginnings to what now is such a promising future. Their father Darrin works for General Electric and his wife Kim serves as a school principal. Prior to giving birth, the couple were merely expecting twins.
