By: Richard L. Smith
For Ansilo Alezy, the road to academic success didn’t follow the straight and polished path often expected of a valedictorian.
During our conversation, I learned that his journey was shaped by instability, change, and hardship—but also by family strength, faith, and a fierce personal promise to do better.
Now 18, Ansilo will stand before his classmates this June as the valedictorian of Irvington High School’s Class of 2025—a moment of triumph that speaks not only to his intellect but to his courage.
Raised in Irvington, Haitian native Ansilo is the oldest of six children in a tight-knit family. His early years in school were difficult, and by his own admission, he struggled with discipline and direction.
“I used to get in trouble a lot,” he said. “But I changed after elementary school. I made a promise to do better.”
During our 35-minute conversation, he mentioned that the turning point occurred in sixth grade, when he began to take school seriously. But just as he was finding his footing, his family faced housing instability.
They moved to Burlington, NJ, in March 2020, where Ansilo enrolled at Burlington City High School.
The cultural shift was stark—he was surrounded by unfamiliar faces in a predominantly white district—but the community welcomed him.
Still, the change was not easy, he said.
“I cried because I had to leave people I loved,” Ansilo said. “We stumbled upon Burlington through faith”.
Despite feeling isolated at times, Ansilo persevered and climbed to the top five in his Burlington City High School class by the ninth grade.
But by the summer of 2023, housing issues returned. His family was homeless for a period, living in hotels before returning to Irvington. 
Though he didn’t complete 10th grade in Burlington, he was allowed to finish it at Irvington High School, where he quickly began to shine.
His growing maturity matched his academic success. Inspired by his father, a car dealer and mechanic who once worked at Newark Airport, Ansilo developed a love for hands-on work and business.
“Helping sell cars started as something I did for him,” he said. “But now I want to build something of my own—a business, a team.”
Though he was accepted to several colleges, Ansilo has chosen a different path.
He plans to attend trade school—possibly Lincoln Tech—with dreams of launching a career in automotive technology or entrepreneurship.
“Everyone has their own story,” he said. “Mine is about making the most of every opportunity. I want to be financially stable and prove that your path doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s to be successful.”
He credits his parents—“my biggest supporters”—and the teachers and staff at Irvington High School who believed in him. “They always had my back,” he said.
To the students coming up behind him, Ansilo offers a simple but powerful message:
“You are enough. Try your best at whatever you do, and you’ll be fine.”
In a world that often measures success by the college path, Ansilo Alezy is a reminder that perseverance, purpose, and personal vision are just as powerful.