Kyanna Woods was born with a heart abnormality, and her parents were informed she would have learning impairments. Today, the Concord high school senior is graduating first in her class with $2.5 million in scholarships.
According to WCNC Charlotte, Woods has been accepted to 61 universities, including Spelman College, Xavier University, the University of South Carolina, and Appalachian State, and she originally struggled to decide which one to attend.
“We were going to the mailbox quite regularly and we get piles of stuff from this school or that school,” William Woods, Kyanna’s father, told the outlet. Becoming the valedictorian at Cabarrus Charter School in Concord didn’t come easy for Woods. Born with two holes in her heart, she had open heart surgery when she was just three months old.
Doctors advised her parents that, in addition to learning impairments, she would have difficulty walking and participating in sports. But Woods didn’t let these obstacles deter her from achieving her goals. She is now not only doing well academically, but she is also involved in sports.”Many people have referred to me as a miracle child. “I welcome it with open arms because it is the truth,” Woods remarked.
Woods has previously graduated twice, according to WCNC Charlotte, once from high school and once from an associate’s degree. She will now attend Xavier University of Louisiana on a valedictorian scholarship as a pre-med psychology student. The adolescent believes that she would not have excelled if it weren’t for her family and faith.
“They are super important. I love all of them to death,” Woods said. “They are my unwavering cheerleaders when I need the motivation.”
Woods’ extraordinary story comes as prematurely born Pennsylvania twins Gianna and Tianna Tout-Puissant prepare to attend Harvard. The identical twins, who are both student-athletes and recently graduated from Moravian Academy in Bethlehem, had to battle health concerns as children as well as major health issues.
“To see them and how they’ve blossomed into the young women they are today, it’s like they’re miracle babies,” the girls’ mother, Leah Tout-Puissant, said.
