–US-based Guyanese boy graduates as valedictorian of his high school

By Cassandra Khan
SEVENTEEN-year-old Daniel Hermonstine defied all odds and graduated as valedictorian of the Daniel McLaughlin Therrell High School in Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America (USA) on Friday, May 27.

Daniel, who spent the first eleven years of his life in Guyana, is a former student of The New Guyana School, where he wrote the “Common Entrance” in 2016. Sometime after graduating from that learning institution, he migrated to the USA.

During his address at his school’s graduation ceremony, he thanked his teachers, principal, and his mother, Lady Dianne Hermonstine, to whom he referred as his biggest supporter. He also thanked his father, Pastor David Hermonstine for the role he has played in his life.

Daniel has not only managed to be valedictorian of his high school, but has also obtained an academic scholarship to the Georgetown University in Washington DC.

“I have worked hard over these last four years to become who I am today. I developed a working mentality; one that I have carried with me throughout high school, and that I will carry with me as I head to the nation’s capital, in Washington DC, to attend Georgetown University on a ‘full-ride’ academic scholarship,” he said.

Daniel shared that his family supports and motivates him to succeed.

“However, if I were to single out someone, it would have to be my mother. My mother goes above and beyond for my success; she always puts forth her best effort to kick down any doors in my way. Her mission in life is to provide me with a great life,” Daniel said.

He had to overcome many challenges, such as family deaths, his mother’s cancer diagnosis, and the extreme culture shock after migrating in the middle of his youth years.

“God wouldn’t put me in it if he didn’t prepare me for it,” is one of Daniel’s most used quotes, as it has helped him to overcome the adverse situations.

The teen is currently a Laboratory Researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology: Project Engages, CMAT Scholar for the Bio-Interfaced Translational Nanoengineering Group.

“My ‘lab’ is centered on soft electronics in the field of healthcare. Soft electronics addresses a wide range of applications, by enabling the comfortable, continuous, and real-time monitoring of signals. My contribution to the scientific field of soft electronics revolves around creating unique, stretchable fractal designs. The stretchability and flexibility of soft electronics make them unique, and more effective than rigid electronics. The more stretchable and flexible a pattern is, the more efficient the soft device will be,” Daniel explained.

He was also recently a part of his district’s first-ever Mayoral Candidate Forum.

“It is Mayoral Election time here in Atlanta, and I am proud to have witnessed students question one of the potential future leaders of my beloved city. It was also exciting for me to mingle with said future leaders, and pick their brains on some issues I find troubling,” he said.

Daniel usually volunteers, and shared one of his most meaningful community service acts.

“The most meaningful community service act for me has been assisting at Special Olympics yearly, and mentorship. I believe that everyone is unique in their way; it is a joy of mine to yearly assist in the Special Olympics,” Daniel said.

His academic achievements include having a 4.0+ weighted GPA, as well as a 3.9+ unweighted GPA. He is an honor roll student, principal’s list student, and was selected along with ten others to do scientific research at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

As if that wasn’t outstanding enough, he is also in the top one per cent of his class. Daniel has been an advanced student since the 8th Grade.

“I took Algebra I in 8th Grade; I took Algebra II in 8th Grade in summer; I took Physics in 9th Grade in summer,” he said.

He was also elected Vice-Chair of the Atlanta Board of Education Student Advisory Council, and was appointed Executive Ambassador of his school.

Daniel credits his Bunche Debate time as yet another exceptional skill, as he has won many medals on the teams, and grown as a debater.

At his graduation, Daniel said that during a rather emotional conversation he had with his mother in 2019, a fire was lit under him, one which still burns at the moment, and will continue to burn as he goes off into the world.