May 19, 2026 — At Kennesaw Mountain High School, senior Gheneruno Ekuerhare has been a model student while persevering through adversity.
As she began her sophomore year, Gheneruno began feeling more aches and pains than usual and decided to go to the doctor.
Gheneruno was then diagnosed with Lupus and eventually began using a wheelchair to navigate campus to avoid what would have been a painful walk to class every day.
"I cannot let what's happened so far to interfere with what I can do in the future," said the KMHS senior.
Outside of being a standout STEM student, Gheneruno has been involved in the Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl and math team and serves as president of the Creative Writing Club, editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, and a tutor for other students
She said that her Lupus diagnosis made her put her expectations and desires into perspective and motivated her not to let her differences define her.
"I'm glad that some things I never thought would influence me to this point did. Like when I turned in an event I went to, just led to this point. So, I'm happy to just know and reflect back and see that this actually had a purpose," said Gheneruno.
Gheneruno is weighing college options, including the Georgia Institute of Technology, Princeton, and the California Institute of Technology, where she plans to make mathematics a major focal point of her education.
