Inaya Mander, a recent high school graduate from Montgomery County, picked Cheyney University out of the 39 historically black colleges or universities where she was accepted, writes Bobbi Booker for The Philadelphia Tribune.

Mander graduated last June from Charter High School for Architecture and Design in Philadelphia with a 3.9 GPA. She had her pick of HBCUs, and decided to accept the Keystone Honors Scholarship at Cheyney, the nation’s oldest historically black college.

The decision was not an easy one for Mander. As acceptance letters from other schools poured in, she also learned about Cheyney’s struggles with financial and administrative woes, as well as its risk of losing accreditation.

However, the school stayed atop her list.

“It took me a long time to get here because I was listening to other people,” said Mander. “I am extremely blessed. I didn’t know until June that I was going to Cheyney.”

She also credits her parents, who both graduated from HBCUs, for their patience during the entire process.

“Everybody doesn’t always have an opportunity to decide in the way that I did,” she said.

Read more about Inaya Mander in The Philadelphia Tribune by clicking here.