Shane Tinsley Is First Black Salutatorian At Belleville High School

(CBS DETROIT) - Shane Tinsley, a senior at Belleville High School, has recently made history becoming the school's first-ever Black salutatorian.

This comes months after learning he was accepted to attend Wayne State University as a Cohort in the Med-Direct program. This unique B.S. to M.D. program admits 10 students each year and creates a pipeline to Wayne State's School of Medicine.

Tinsley shared that he wasn't always "the smartest student" but he worked hard and remained dedicated to his education. He learned about Med-Direct in his freshman year and set his mind on working to achieve that goal.

"Intelligence is fluid, it's not something you are necessarily born with but it's something that you build over time," said Tinsley. "I am not fixed in any certain state. I can change it, I can build onto what I have right now."

Inspired by his former sixth-grade teacher, Shane aims to pursue academic medicine to teach other students.

"I came from a disadvantaged background, which makes me want to teach. Giving back and teaching the next generation of physicians would impact me to say, 'I came from a background that wasn't the strongest, and now I can give that training back to someone else'."

#Inspirational was the name of Tinsley's graduation speech. He plans to study urology at WSU and hopes to advance the field through medical research which includes plans to one day presenting his research worldwide.

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