King HS grad receives $2 million in scholarships, top school offers

DETROIT (WJBK) - She worked hard and it paid off. A high school graduate from Detroit has nearly two dozen offers to go to the nation's top schools.

Alana Burke graduated at the top of her class at King High School in Detroit with a 4.2 grade-point average. She received acceptance letters from 20 colleges and racked up $2 million in scholarships.

"Once I got home it was studying, doing homework, reading." said Alana Burke. She says she got through with support from a strong community, including all her teachers, counselors and her principal, Dr. Deborah Jenkins. 

Although she was born in Detroit, Alana's family relocated to Birmingham, Alabama when she was 6 years old. They moved back to Motown her sophomore year in high school. 

Alana had always been a strong and dedicated student, but it was at King High School where she was nurtured. The principal took Alana under her wing.

"Dr. Jenkins who helped me through this process, helped me become more confident in myself and my abilities," Alana said. "She taught me a lot about the challenges I would face in America as a young black woman."

And Alana says she is no anomaly. Anyone can achieve their goals if you only believe.

"It takes a lot of hard work and determination but you can never give up," she said. "You can never forget what you truly are worth. People can down talk you and say you're not going to do this, you're not going to do that, because you're an African-American in a city that's crime-ridden, but you can still do it." 

So where is she headed to school?

She's headed to the University of Michigan this fall. She says she plans on majoring in Women's and Gender Studies with a minor in Gender and Health.