Columbia High School senior Chioma Okafor, who has done a lot of everything in her time at CHS, was honored earlier this year as an Unsung Hero for doing things that don’t often get recognized but don’t go unnocticed.
The honor, prsented by Essex County at the Unsung Heroes ceremony in March, recgonizes one 12th grade student from each high school in Essex County.
According to the Counselor Corner newsletter, Essex County Unsung Heroes recognizes students who have made an impact through their invaluable contributions to their communities. The purpose of the award is to recognize students whose achievements and contributions are not often celebrated by other student recognition programs and awards.
“Chioma’s impact spans academics, athletics and service, including her roles as a student council leader, team captain and volunteer tutor,” Superintendent of Schools Jason Bing told the public at the March South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education meeting.
Chioma Okafor (photo courtesy of Chioma Okafor)
Upon hearing she was named an Unsung Hero, Okafor says, she was “initially surprised, as well as happy and gratified.”
At the ceremony, Okafor was celebrated for a variety of achievements across areas: as a student, an athlete, and a member of the community. Okafor has been a member and captain of Varsity basketball, the captain of the flag football team, a vice president in Student Council, a member of the Minority Achievement Community (MAC), and a co-founder of the athletic training club.
Okafor says that there are some challenges to doing such a wide range of activities.
“When you do a lot of things, it can be overwhelming and you have to learn how to manage your time better,” she told the Village Green. “You can’t waste time if you don’t have much to waste.”
Her advice for other students? “Don’t take yourself out of something until you are taken out of it. [People] are not willing to try because they think they won’t make the cutoff…” she said. “You only miss the shots you don’t take.”
The Essex County Unsung Heroes Award also focuses on the powerful positive influence that the students recognized have on others in their schools and towns as well.
Okafor said that she is motivated to uplift people. “When you help somebody and you see the change in their mood… it’s almost like a reward, you know, [to make] people happy and seeing that happiness come from them.”
When asked about the effect that she wants to have on the community, Okafor said she wants “to increase people’s openness to each other.”
“I think community is such a big thing, people don’t realize that until they have it or they lose it,” she added. “People should be kinder to each other.”
At the March Board of Education meeting, Bing said Okafor’s “commitment to uplifting others and leading with integrity reflects the very best of our District. We congratulate Chioma on this well-deserved recognition and celebrate the example she sets for our school.”
Board of Education President Will Meyer and Board Member Shayna Sackett-Gable attended the Essex Country ceremony celebrating the Unsung Heroes.
“She has done one of everything. And she has clearly been an uplifting force for her peers as well,” Meyer told the Board and the public afterward. “There’s really no way that in one minute I could do her justice, but also in 20 minutes I couldn’t do her justice.”
When asked about her goals for the future, Okafor said, “What I aim to achieve is always [to] reach my potential, never settle.”
Adair Curry is an 11th grade student at Columbia High School who is working with Village Green as a paid student freelancer through a grant from the NJ Civic Information Consortium.
