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Son's success celebrated by a firm but loving mom

Ovella O'Neal's parenting secret is simple: no cellphones, no girlfriends. This strategy helped her raise her son, Aljelani Igwe, who is set to graduate from LEAP Academy University Charter School next week and begin classes at Rowan University in the fall. Growing up in Camden, Igwe stayed out of trouble, O'Neal said, and never had any run-ins with the law.

Aljelani Igwe, set to graduate from LEAP Academy next week, was surprised by his mother, Ovella O’Neal, and other family members with sweets and a billboard message. (STEVEN M. FALK/Staff Photographer)
Aljelani Igwe, set to graduate from LEAP Academy next week, was surprised by his mother, Ovella O’Neal, and other family members with sweets and a billboard message. (STEVEN M. FALK/Staff Photographer)Read more

Ovella O'Neal's parenting secret is simple: no cellphones, no girlfriends.

This strategy helped her raise her son, Aljelani Igwe, who is set to graduate from LEAP Academy University Charter School next week and begin classes at Rowan University in the fall. Growing up in Camden, Igwe stayed out of trouble, O'Neal said, and never had any run-ins with the law.

"He's just been a super kid," she said. "If I could clone him and put him in every home. ... He just listens."

To show her son how proud she is of his success, O'Neal arranged a surprise Tuesday afternoon. She rented a billboard near the corner of Seventh and Cooper Streets, by LEAP Academy, to display his photo and a special message: "A mother can't raise a man, but I raised a gentleman. We have the total package. Love, Your Family." The billboard - which cost more than $700 - will stay up for three weeks.

When Igwe met his mom after school Tuesday, he said he was "shocked" to see the large sign - emblazoned with his school photo - for the first time. He was also met by extended family members, an ice cream truck, and a cupcake truck.

After the surprise, the 18-year-old embraced his mother, as friends and family stood nearby snapping cellphone photos.

She brought him ice cream from the truck and, as Igwe licked the melting vanilla cone on the sidewalk, he recalled how she helped him stay out of trouble growing up.

"She just makes sure I'm in school and doing what I need to do to be successful," said Igwe, who has attended LEAP since kindergarten.

"That's my nephew," Deborah Delaine said. "I'm very proud. He's a good child."

Igwe's father, Sal, who lives in Camden, has been a part of his life, but did not attend Tuesday's surprise.

O'Neal, a worker at Samaritan Hospice, grew up in Camden. Her childhood was rough, she said, but she was disciplined.

To motivate her own six kids, O'Neal, 45, likes to give them specific examples of her childhood friends or former classmates at Woodrow Wilson High School. She tells her children whether those people succeeded, and what qualities they possessed that affected the positive or negative outcomes of their lives.

"We as parents have to be a prime example for our children," she said. "When they leave from under our nose, they should represent you [and] their upbringing."

O'Neal moved her family out of North Camden eight years ago and into the Baldwin's Run neighborhood, a safer area in East Camden.

They sit down to dinner every night, Igwe said, and O'Neal often makes his favorite meal, spaghetti.

In high school, Igwe kept a strict schedule. He woke up at 7 a.m. for school. After classes ended at 4 p.m., he headed to the Boys and Girls Club of Camden, where he volunteered to clean and help the younger kids with their homework, and then to basketball practice. He was a guard on LEAP Academy's basketball team.

He has been teaching his 4-year-old brother, Gabriel, to play basketball. Igwe said he will miss Gabriel, and the rest of his family, when he leaves for college, but emphasized that he will be close enough to visit frequently.

In college, he said, he wants to major in engineering or science, after enjoying math and forensics classes in high school.

O'Neal said she foresees her son moving away from Camden after college, and excelling at whatever career path he chooses.

But, for the rest of the summer, she said, the no-cellphone, no-girlfriend rules remain. And he still has to be home before dark.