Above image: 2026 graduates with a perfect 4.0 grade point average include (left to right) Adeloye Ibukunoluwa, Aayush Jha, Gabrielle Morgan, Eke Djibril, Amir Haithem, and Christopher Hill.
If you want to know how well HBCUs like Howard prepare its students for excellence, ask any of the 199 graduates whose perfect performance during their academic course of study was underscored by a presumptive 4.0 grade point average and culminated in high accolades during the May 2026 Commencement. Representing a deep and broad diversity of backgrounds, interests, skills, perceptions, life philosophies, preferences, and experiences that add to their competitive advantages, these new alumni aren’t merely competent. They are setting a new pace of professionalism in a range of fields.
As final transcripts for the Class of 2026 are readied, the true brilliance of the group is crystallizing. At the undergraduate level, 74 students are on track to be certified as graduates with a perfect grade point average, while 123 graduate students and 2 professional students have achieved the same feat. These students, who are awaiting final certification as graduates with 4.0 GPAs, come from a range of geographic locations and reflect a cross section of disciplines, furthering Howard’s legendary tradition of dispatching the world’s most talented changemakers into a spectrum of fields to make a transformative impact across the globe.
Advocates and Activists
At just 19 years of age, summa cum laude graduate Christopher Hill (BFA ’26) earned a bachelor’s degree in television and film while also minoring in photography and serving as a resident assistant, as secretary of the Howard University Photography Club, and on the steering committee for the Howard University Alternative Spring Break, through which he performed community service in Birmingham, Alabama and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hill wastes no time academically. He graduated from high school after his junior year and moved from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. to begin classes at Howard less than a month after receiving his acceptance letter. He noted that he was extremely reserved prior to enrolling at Howard, but his interactions with other students helped him overcome self-isolation and elevate his mental health.
Hill is proud to be part of a legacy of Bison who “utilize their voices, decision making, and willpower to rectify injustice,” enabled by a campus experience that “was a chance to indulge in a sea of culture, knowledge, and companionship.”
At Howard, I was surrounded by overachieving Black students filled with passion and driven by purpose.
“At Howard, I was surrounded by overachieving Black students filled with passion and driven by purpose,” Hill said. “Day by day, I learned to adjust to my environment. I began to blossom into my truest form by peeling away layers of self-doubt and insecurity and revealing seeds of curiosity and adventure. Howard has brought me lifelong relationships, unforgettable memories, and a gratification that no other experience would be able to provide.”
Hill has always been driven, but at Howard he realized a new purpose as he earned a presumptive 4.0 GPA. He renewed his faith and took advantage of opportunities to tackle issues important to him. He took courses on environmental inequality, used photography projects to document pollution, and created a film for his thesis that highlighted the harsh realities faced by unhoused people. As a burgeoning advocate and activist, Hill has learned that challenges are among the stepping stones to success.
“I feel that as humans we often devalue adversity because it typically brings some sort of pain,” Hill said. “I’ve learned that it is only through such pain that one can grow. Embracing hardship, recognizing where you can improve, and striving forward with an enhanced mindset is how you become the best you.”
Carrying Forth the Legacy
Howard University pioneered sickle cell disease research, and that transformative work will continue through Eke Djibril (B.S. ’26), who wants to use her bachelor’s degree in health science and presumptive 4.0 GPA as a springboard to further study the illness. She had the highest GPA in the Division of Allied Health Sciences, was a Truman Scholar finalist, and earned numerous scholarships including the Obama-Chesky Voyager for Public Service. She was inducted into the Epsilon Tau Sigma Honor Society of the National Society of Allied Health, and served as president of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.
I can be a leader, a change maker, one who challenges the structures of our culture, all while completing the mission at hand.
“I came to Howard because I was looking for a home where people looked like me and accepted me for who I am,” Djibril said. “Since middle school, I had known that I wanted to attend Howard University because it embodied excellence, and I wanted to be a part of that. Growing up in a predominantly white state also influenced my decision to go to Howard because I dealt with racism and microaggressions in school and was judged and bullied for my lanky frame, being Muslim, and the thick accent I had after having lived in West Africa during my younger years. I knew I had to go see what else was out there and that there was a community out there for me, so I sought it out.”
“Being taught by people who look like me changed my entire view of what I could really accomplish,” she added.
Studying at Howard was the fulfillment of a long-standing dream, and ironically, Howard helped Djibril gain life-changing experiences far from campus. She conducted research on infectious diseases at Harvard and in Ghana, her Obama-Chesky scholarship sponsored study in Brazil and Ecuador, where she lived with an indigenous Kichwa tribe in the Amazon jungle and learned about traditional medicines and shamanism. She also spent time on the island nation of Palau, where she performed a research study involving native Palauans with type 2 diabetes. The experiences she gained through Howard has helped form her understanding of what she can accomplish and what doors she deserves to walk through.
“These experiences have prepared me to be a visionary, someone who’s reached the pinnacle of what it means to be a voyager, one who is not scared to try new things and get lost, one who is not afraid to stand out for their different perspectives or approaches, or simply one who can take risks,” she said. “I belong in every room that societal constructs say a Black African Muslim woman shouldn’t be in. I can be a leader, a change maker, one who challenges the structures of our culture, all while completing the mission at hand.”
Opening Doors
Jamaica native Gabrielle Morgan (B.S. ’26) maintained a presumptive 4.0 GPA while earning a bachelor’s degree in biology with minors in chemistry, psychology, and political science. Even on a campus full of achievers, her ability to juggle academics and co-curricular activities was remarkable. Her poster presentation was recognized as the best during Research Month and she won an award for best capstone research project in the biology department. She coordinated programming for Howard University Alternative Spring Break in Cleveland, Ohio. She served as the Howard University Students Association’s associate director for the non-traditional student experience; was part of National Council of Negro Women; a donor ambassador for the Red Cross’ Greater Chesapeake Region; and worked with Howard’s Moorland Spingarn Research Center — and those are just some of her activities.
She is appreciative that her professors made no distinctions between international and domestic students and helped her seize opportunity after opportunity.
“They always opened another door where one closed,” Morgan said. “It’s really like a home away from home type of thing, because you just find your community and you learn who you are really. Being able to just have conversations with people from different backgrounds and different walks of life is really what I think taught me more about myself.”
She didn’t know what an HBCU was before she started researching college options, but now said that coming to Howard is the best decision she has ever made. As she has interacted with leaders outside of Howard, she has been struck by how impressed they are with the professionalism Howard students are routinely taught to embody and display. What is special to others, she said, is normal to her because of her Howard training.
“Once we step into the ‘real world,’ people are going to be shocked,” she said.
Kick the Door Down
Amir Haithem (B.S. ’26) is already working as an artificial intelligence strategist, though he just graduated from Howard with a presumptive 4.0 GPA and a bachelor’s degree in computer science. He’s headed to McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, in a full-time business analyst role. At Howard, he was inducted into Tau Beta Pi’s Engineering Honor Society and Upsilon Phi Epsilon’s computer science honor society, while also serving as an Obama- Chesky Voyager scholar and a District 5 Rhodes Scholarship Finalist. Additionally, he’s e a Splunk HBCU scholar, a Milken HBCU fellow, an Alt Finance fellow, and a Google Tech Exchange fellow. He received the Generator Social Impact Award, Google Tech Exchange fellow and completed investment banking internships at Barclays and Nomura. He was active in the Howard’s Google Student Developer Club, the Howard University Quant Society, and the National Society of Black Engineers. He ultimately would like to found a growth equity fund investing in African companies and facilitate capital investment on the continent.
Haithem’s relationship with Howard began before he arrived, as the university’s alumni were among his most influential teachers and mentors — and still are. He said they made him aware of career paths he didn’t know existed. Howard helped him learn what “ambition with purpose actually looks like.”
Sometimes you have to just kick the door down or make a new path.
“Sometimes you have to just kick the door down or make a new path,” said Haithem. “Access isn’t something you have to wait for. You really have to build it and then just bring other people along with you. Being surrounded by so many driven and brilliant people from (varied or diverse? backgrounds made it really impossible for me to stay small minded.”
Diversity Is an Asset
Howard is where Aayush Jha (B.S. ’26) said that he “grew from a student into a professional ready to take on the tech industry.” He is moving to California to join Apple full time as a design verification engineer after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and a presumptive 4.0 GPA. Jha is dedicated to peer mentorship and tutoring, helping fellow students navigate complex engineering coursework. He also worked as a research assistant under Dr. Hassan Salmani in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science where he worked with a team of students that developed a health tracking and emergency alert application designed to streamline critical medical communication.
Jha is from Nepal, and his favorite memories at Howard involve collaboration and cross-cultural engagement. When he and his roommates celebrated Nepali festivals, they enjoyed inviting friends from the Black community and other international backgrounds. The genuine embrace of his culture, food, and traditions underscored the warmth and inclusivity of the Howard environment for him.
“Howard is special because its community, inclusivity, and energy are completely unmatched,” said Jha. “There is a distinct, vibrant electricity on campus that you simply cannot find anywhere else. It is a place that demands excellence from you while simultaneously wrapping you in a supportive family that celebrates who you are and where you come from. That unique combination of high-powered ambition and deep cultural warmth is what makes Howard entirely one of one.”
Bet on Yourself
Word got to Ibukunoluwa Adeloye (B.S. ’26) in Nigeria that Howard was “the pinnacle of Black excellence.” Once she enrolled, it changed her life, helping her elevate her faith and self-confidence. After earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering with a presumptive 4.0 GPA, she’s headed to San Francisco to work as a software engineer at Uber.
Howard taught me that I deserve to be in the rooms I walk into.
The summa cum laude graduate won first place at a hackathon hosted by Morgan State University, led the Women’s Fellowship at Bethel Campus Fellowship, and served as fundraising chair for the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and also participated in the organization’s “Introduce A Girl to Engineering Day.” She served as mentorship chair for IEEE, which bills itself as the world’s largest technical professional organization and a public charity dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity, and was a Black Wings leader with Rewriting the Code, an organization supporting underrepresented genders in tech.
“The Howard experience really helped shape my identity,” Adeloye said. “Prior to Howard, I had a small view of life, thinking that doing well in academics equals excelling. I quickly realized that simply was not enough. Howard expanded my world view and showed me that life’s essence is much more than that. At Howard, I deepened my faith and built a real relationship with God. I built friendships I know will last a lifetime. I took chances on opportunities I never would have considered before. I even became a runner and completed three races. Howard didn’t just educate me; it expanded who I am. Howard made me realize that life is too expansive to limit it to one tiny box. It drilled the idea that I can be and do anything I want to do.”
Adeyole and many of the other star scholars pointed to Howard as a place where they learned to take chances, expand their comfort zone, succeed, and just as importantly, learn how to fail without giving up. They called out the collective power of unapologetic brilliance and the way members of the student body drive each other to succeed. Howard, they said, showed them that they are worthy.
“Howard taught me that I deserve to be in the rooms I walk into,” said Adeyole. “Imposter syndrome is real, but so is hard work, and hard work doesn’t lie. I learned to rest in the fact that I worked just as hard as anyone to earn my seat at the table. It’s okay to struggle once you’re there. The same effort that got you in will carry you through, as long as you’re willing to bet on yourself.”
