In 2020, Princeton University named Nicholas Johnson its first Black valedictorian in the institution’s 274-year history. Johnson, the valedictorian for the Class of 2020, described the honor as particularly significant considering Princeton’s ongoing efforts to address its complex history with slavery. The 22-year-old expressed surprise upon learning of his groundbreaking achievement last week. “Being Princeton’s first Black valedictorian is very empowering, especially given its historical ties to the institution of slavery,” Johnson said. He also commended the university for its leadership among predominantly white institutions in confronting and critically examining its past relationship with slavery, noting, “They’ve taken very deliberate steps to reconcile things.”
Johnson, from Montreal, majored in operations research and financial engineering. His senior thesis focused on developing algorithms to design a community-based preventive health intervention to decrease obesity in Canada, with applications for enforcing social distancing to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
Of Princeton’s 5,328 undergraduates, 419, or 7.9 percent, are Black.
William A. Massey, a professor of operations research and financial engineering who taught Johnson, recognized his student’s exceptional abilities early on. “He was just very, very outstanding, very personable, with a wide range of interests,” Professor Massey said. He noted Johnson’s regular attendance at graduate student and faculty conferences, and his selection for a presentation among a field largely comprised of graduate students. Professor Massey also highlighted Johnson’s commitment to applying his research to social issues: “He’s somebody interested in channeling his skills to serve humanity.”
