13-Year-Old Black Girl Gets Accepted Into Medical School
At 13 years old, Alena Analeigh Wicker has accomplished more academically than many adults. According to 12 News, the child prodigy is currently enrolled in undergraduate programs at both Arizona State University and Oakwood University, an HBCU in Huntsville, Ala. However, the young scholar revealed she has been accepted into medical school.
“Today I’m just grateful. I graduated High school LAST YEAR at 12 years old and here I am one year later I’ve been accepted into Med School at 13,” she wrote on Instagram, sharing a screenshot of her official acceptance letter.
Her caption continued, “I’m a junior in college. Statistics would have said I never would have made it. A little black girl adopted from Fontana California. I’ve worked so hard to reach my goals and live my dreams.Mama I made it. I couldn’t have done it without you. You gave me every opportunity possible to be successful.
The news outlet reported Wicker has shifted her career goals from engineering—with dreams of working for NASA—to medicine after being inspired during a trip abroad in Jordan.
“It actually took one class in engineering, for me to say this is kind of not where I wanted to go,” she explained to the outlet. “I think viral immunology really came from my passion for volunteering and going out there engaging with the world.”
Wicker continued, “What I want from healthcare is to really show these underrepresented communities that we can help that we can find cures for these viruses.”
As she continues her academic feats, Alena Analeigh Wicker is set to attend the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine and is on track to be finished by the age of 18 years old. She is inspired by her foundation, The Brown Stem Girl, which she created to provide an outlet for girls of color in stem through engagement, empowerment, and education.
“I’ve always thought, Why can’t girls of color do STEM and pursue jobs in STEM like others? I’ve always believed that girls of color can do anything in STEM that they put their minds to, so I created the Brown STEM Girl to give STEM opportunities to girls of color,” she told EBONY when recognized as one of theoutlets 2022 HBCU STEM Queens.
Source: vibe
