Zalika '27 and Zakiya '29 Obuyuwana brought home five medals between them at this year's regional NAACP ACT-SO (Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympics) competition, with Zalika earning a Gold Medal that qualifies her to advance to the national level.
ACT-SO is a year-round NAACP initiative designed to recruit, stimulate, and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African American high school students. Participants spend months developing original work with mentors and coaches before competing in more than 30 categories spanning STEM, humanities, performing arts, visual arts, business, and culinary arts. Only regional gold medalists advance to the National ACT-SO Competition, held each summer during the NAACP National Convention.
Zakiya competed in two categories, earning a Silver Medal in Original Essay and a Bronze Medal in Dramatic Arts. Zalika submitted work in three categories and medaled in each one: a Bronze Medal in Biology/Microbiology, a Bronze Medal in Written Poetry, and a Gold Medal in Original Essay. Her gold-medal essay earned her a place among the regional winners eligible to advance to nationals.
Between them, Zalika and Zakiya competed across five different categories, from microbiology to dramatic arts—a range that reflects the kind of curiosity and creative reach Wellington works to cultivate in its students.