Salome Agbaroji

Richard Gahr High School
Artesia, CA

Salome Agbaroji is the National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States from 2023-2024, making her the first African with this title. She is a Nigerian-American poet that has written and performed spoken word poetry for the Golden Globes Pre-Show, NFL Rams Halftime Show, an Opening Act on Rupi Kaur's World Tour, the likes of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Black Lives Matter founder Patrisse Cullors, Mrs. Tina Lawson, and many more. This year, she will be an ambassador for Vans' global brand campaign. Salome was a YoungArts winner in Spoken Word and has been honored by the Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards, among many others. She has been published in NPR's KCRW, Noema Magazine, the Harvard Technology Review, and more.

Entering Harvard University to study Government and Political Science this fall, her focuses outside of poetry are civic engagement and advocacy about issues such as racism towards minority communities, immigrant stories, injustices in the international society, and more.

Scholarships Awarded in 2023: Claes Nobel Future Female Leader Scholarship

Claes Nobel Future Female Leader Scholarship encourages and empowers young women to assume future leadership roles in their colleges and universities, their careers, and communities and to become mentors for the young women following in their footsteps.