Back in 2013, Noella Ukpe-Roberts of Missouri City, Texas, was narrating adorable videos of her favorite folktale, “Lǎo Lǎo Tóu,” in fluent Chinese. Today, the seventh-grade student, invited to join the Duke University Talent Identification Program’s prestigious Seventh Grade Talent Search in October, has gained admission into Duke’s Summer Studies Program. She will be taking a college-level equivalent course in finance that will explore marketing, innovation and the effects that the stock market, taxes, mortgages and interest-bearing accounts have on our daily financial decisions.
“Qualifying for Duke’s Summer Studies is such an amazing opportunity,” said Ukpe-Roberts. “I’m hoping to gain skills in finance that will prepare me to own and operate my own animation studio one day.”
Each year, the Duke TIP identifies a group of academically talented students in the United States based on their exceptional grade-level standardized test scores. Only those who score at or above the 95th percentile qualify to participate in the Seventh Grade Talent Search and to take the ACT or SAT, which are designed for college-bound 11th- and 12th-graders. Only the top scoring participants are granted admission to Duke’s Summer Studies Program.
“We are so proud of our daughter,” said Ukpe-Roberts’ father, Gabriel Emegha. “She has consistently worked hard at her academics and is extraordinarily focused and determined to make her dreams come true.”
Participants in the Seventh Grade Talent Search also receive a variety of support services and gain access to research and other information about using their academic abilities more effectively.
The Duke TIP is a nonprofit educational organization that is recognized as a leader in identifying and serving the educational needs of academically gifted youth. Through identification, recognition, challenging educational programs, information, advocacy and research, Duke TIP provides resources to gifted students, their parents, educators and schools to help gifted scholars reach their full academic potential. For more on Duke TIP talent searches, including qualification requirements for its Fourth to Sixth Grade Talent Searches, as well as the Seventh Grade Talent Search, visit www.tip.duke.edu.
