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BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) —A West Baton Rouge native is leaving her mark on the world.

Jade Woods is a recent graduate of Harvard University with a message for those who may want to follow in her footsteps.

Woods says, “for anyone in Louisiana who is considering attending an Ivy League school, I want those young people to know that it is more than possible for them to do it. Harvard may be far away geographically, but young people in Louisiana have all of the resources, skills, and support to make that goal attainable.“

Images courtesy of Jade Woods – Used with Permission

Woods graduated from the prestigious Ivy League school on May 26.

The journey to graduation day started long ago for Jade Woods.

School for Jade started in pre-k at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School.

A straight A student all the way through 8th grade, Woods made her way to St. Joseph’s Academy.

The local student kept busy during her time as a Redsticker.

Woods says she “participated in clubs such as the Latin club, Mu Alpha Theta, the writing center, youth in government, and the historical and geographical society.“

Her time at in the state and at St. Joseph’s Academy made it difficult for Woods to leave Louisiana, Woods says.

When the time came to choose where she would go to college, Woods choose between eight schools. choose.

Those schools were LSU, Southern University, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Georgetown, Duke, Tulane, and George Washington University.

It came down to Harvard, Princeton and Georgetown for the West Baton Rouge native.

After choosing Harvard, Woods went on to major in government with a specialization in modern standard Arabic.

This decision kept with her lifelong dream to go into public service.

While at Harvard, Woods was a member of the Kuumba Singers, served as a Peer Advising Fellow and lent her talents to a group called Fossil Fuel Divest Harvard.

Woods enjoyed her time at Harvard and particularly Cambridge.

The recent Harvard graduate said “one thing that was particularly enjoyable for me was how pedestrian-friendly the city was.”

So now that her undergraduate journey is complete, what is next for Jade Woods?

Woods says, “I would like to pursue a doctorate in the social sciences and conduct research into subjects such as incarceration, protest, and imperialism.“

The future is bright for Jade Woods and the West Baton Rouge Parish native would like to help those in Louisiana who aspire to a future at an Ivy League school.

If that describes you, the recent Harvard graduate would love to hear from you.

Woods would like to thank everyone who helped her achieve this goal including her teachers, parents, grandparents, and other friends and family members throughout the years.