A New Jersey teen is so bright, they named her valedictorian — twice.
Daniela Velazquez, 18, received the academic honor last month from both her high school, Passaic Preparatory Academy, and from Passaic County Community College, whose early college program she entered in 2020 thanks to her stellar grades.
“It’s a great program for students within my high school, especially because my city is a low-income area, so the college credits that we receive help a lot with the financial problems that we might stumble on in the future,” the Passaic native told The Post.
In addition to her workload from high school, where she had a 4.576 GPA, she took college-level courses virtually for two years, earning a 3.99 average and her associate’s degree.
On a typical school day, she would take six high school classes in the morning, and devote afternoons to the completion of two or three college courses, such as ethics, sociology and psychology, per semester.
A first-generation Mexican American, Velazquez recalled her parents’ educational roots.
“My parents never had the opportunity to graduate high school, none the less college,” she said. “My mother didn’t get to graduate middle school. Her last grade was fourth grade because she was very poor in her country, so she had to stay home and take care of her younger siblings. My mom put on my gown, cap, and cords and told me that I was graduating high school for her. It is definitely a moment that I replay in my head often.”
She also had to explain to them what the word valedictorian meant.
“They reminded me that they would have been proud even if I didn’t have the title,” she said.
Throughout her time at Passaic Prep, the self-proclaimed “theater geek” still had time to star in musicals, serve on student government and launch its first chess club.
She also won an award for her volunteer work, which includes being a part of the mayor’s youth council in New Jersey, where she helps low-income residents by handing out backpacks to children and feeding the homeless.
All that hard work left little time for romance, Velazquez said.
“No dating, that’s kind of a rule in my house. People do it secretly … but I didn’t have time.”
She did have one vice during intense cramming sessions: McDonald’s. “Every time I would feel stressed, I would tell my sister, ‘Hey, can we go get chicken nuggets?’”
In the fall, she will attend Columbia University on partial scholarship, where she will double major in psychology and film studies. She was admitted to the Ivy League school through QuestBridge, a nonprofit that connects motivated low-income students to opportunities in higher education.
In her high school yearbook, Velazquez was voted “Most Likely to Become President,” which she said is ironic because she has no interest in the job.
“I would be so scared running the country, my hair would turn grey so fast and I like my brown hair,” she said, laughing.
