Throughout her time at Destrehan High School, Vionnye Alexander participated in National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, JROTC, Earth Club, Interact Club and Beta Club. She also balanced various community service projects, advanced placement courses and honors classes, all while being in the district’s gifted program.
Her hard work paid off.
Alexander was named DHS’s 2020 Salutatorian. She said learning is something that has always come naturally for her.
“My parents never really had to push me,” Alexander said of her self-motivation. “I’ve always had something in me to want to go above the norm.”
While Alexander’s hobbies include reading and spending time with her family, she also carved out time throughout high school to tutor elementary and middle school students.
“I hope my classmates remember me as a contributing member of the student population and as someone they could ask for help if they needed it,” she said.
Several of Alexander’s former teachers said she epitomized service as she guided peers and gave back to her community. They said she is open-minded, compassionate, and driven.
Alexander said she will remember her time at DHS as a positive experience.
“I appreciate all the activities they had for us, like the sprit weeks and the black history programs,” she said. “There were lots of opportunities to improve ourselves and explore what we would want to do in the future.”
Alexander is clear on what she would like to do in the future – she plans to major in pre-med and hopes to attend medical school after college.
“I think it’s going to be good for my independence and give me a chance to explore different avenues of life on my own,” she said of college.
In the fall she will attend Xavier University, where she was awarded a full tuition scholarship that also covers room and board and any other fees.
“I was surprised,” Alexander said of Xavier’s offer. “I knew with my grades I’d be eligible for some money for college, but I didn’t except to receive that.”
Alexander said the generous offer from Xavier was a relief, because after learning about it she didn’t have to worry about if or how she would be able to attend the school.
“I wanted to attend an HBCU because I would get the chance to study with students coming from similar cultural experiences and participate in an educational program tailored to African American individuals,” she said. “It also exposes me to a vast network of professional and successful African Americans beyond my college career.”
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