The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture is pleased to extend congratulations to Nicholas A. G. Johnson, son of Drs. Dexter and Anita Johnson on his extraordinary accomplishment, having been named Valedictorian of Princeton University’s Class of 2020.
A stellar achievement, Nicholas is the first student of African heritage and Bahamian descent to have accomplished this feat in the Ivy League School’s 274-year history.
He graduated at the end of May, 2020 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering with Concentration in Operations Research and Financial Engineering with Minors in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, and Statistics and Machine Learning.
Nicholas, who grew up in Canada with his parents, his father a noted Oral Surgeon, born and raised in The Bahamas, and mother, born and bred in Jamaica, credits them together with his grandparents for providing him with the necessary guidance and encouragement which factors that have served to mold the attributes of confidence and excellence that he strives for and continues to attain.
Though born in Montreal, Canada, Nicholas is proud of his Bahamian heritage, and his outstanding achievements continue to make The Bahamas proud and serve to demonstrate the quality, intelligence and ability of those whose DNA is rooted in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
Nicholas joins the ranks of the many outstanding Bahamians and those of Bahamian heritage whose commitment to excellence coupled with their extraordinary talents and gifts have caused them to stand out on the world stage as high achievers, and in so doing upholds the reputation of this small island state as a country which continues to produce invaluable contributors of the global society.
A well rounded and community minded upcoming leader, Nicholas has attained numerous awards prior to this latest achievement.
A trailblazer and well-rounded individual, in addition, Nicholas has made the disciplined sacrifice to assist, mentor and lead other students simultaneous to his pursuit of personal goals.
Most notably as Project Manager for the Peru Team of Princeton's chapter of Engineers Without Borders he managed a team of 40 engineering students and led them in designing a potable water system for Pusunchás, a rural community of 120 families in the northern Peruvian Andes.
A young man with focus and zeal, Nicholas is scheduled to undergo summer internship as a Hybrid Quantitative Researcher and Software Developer at the D.E. Shaw Group, and has been accepted by the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology to pursue Ph.D. studies in Operations Research commencing the fall of 2020.
Nicholas’ work and achievements to date are indisputably a testament to Bahamians and those of African heritage that in fact, ‘the sky is the limit’.
The Youth of our nation are therefore invited to take their favorite chapter of Nicholas’ book and write their own story of hard-work, discipline, commitment, determination and success.
On behalf of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, in particular, the Division of Youth together with Bahamians young and old, and by extension the Government of The Bahamas, we congratulate Nicholas and his family on his wonderful achievements.
We encourage him to continue the journey of success and thank him for being an example for youth everywhere. We support him, look forward to his continued development, and wish him the very best in every good endeavor.
