A 13-year-old girl is making history and headlines this week. The girl, who’s barely a teenager, achieved an incredible feat when she was accepted into medical school!
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It’s clear that Alena Analeigh is anything but your average 13-year-old. She’s just been accepted into the University of Alabama’s Heersink School of Medicine for 2024 through its Early Assurance Program.
The program extends early admission to applicants after they meet specific criteria.
But, this amazing teen does not think of herself as special. Alena told the Washington Post:
“I’m still a normal 13-year-old. I just have extremely good time management skills and I’m very disciplined.”
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As a prime example of her “good time management skills,” Alena graduated from high school over a year ago at 12, shaving five to six years off her academic career. Currently, she’s a junior in college at both Oakwood University and Arizona State University. She’s earning two bachelor’s degrees in biological sciences simultaneously!
Alena says she owes a lot of her success to her mom, Daphne McQuarter. She said on Instagram after learning of her acceptance:
“Mama I made it. I couldn’t have done it without you. You gave me every opportunity possible to be successful.”
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Daphne recognized that her daughter was different when she was only 3-years-old. She said:
“Alena was gifted. It was just how she did things and how advanced she was. She was reading chapter books.”
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Alena’s mom supports her daughter every step of the way. And when other kids began bullying her due to her academic excellence, Daphne decided to homeschool her daughter. Alena would return to a traditional classroom in the 5th grade but continue to take high school courses online, which her mom helped her set up.
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The pandemic further accelerated her education. While others were busy binging on Netflix or making online recipes, Alena crammed in more classes. She said:
“I was bored. The high school work was so easy for me that I ended up graduating from high school at 12 years old.”
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Alena doesn’t think age should hold anyone back from achieving their dreams. The teen mused:
“What is age? You’re not too young to do anything. I feel like I have proven to myself that I can do anything that I put my heart and mind to.”
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In addition to her already incredible accomplishments, Alena works extra hard also to help others. Her organization (of course, she has her own organization) is called The Brown STEM Girl, which supports other girls of color interested in STEM. Alena’s goal is to prove to “the world that there’s other girls out there that are just like me, and they deserve an opportunity and a chance.”
Women only make up around 28 percent of America’s science and engineering workforce. And women of color only make up about five percent of that! Alena is working hard to improve the lives of millions of young girls like her.
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As though that wasn’t enough, Alena became the youngest NASA intern in 2021. She actually changed career paths during college to pursue medicine. Alena’s mentor, Clayton Turner, the director of the agency’s Langley Research Center, said:
“Alena is one of those exceptional intellects.” What most impressed him, though, was her heart. He stated proudly, “What’s in her is wanting to help others, wanting to lift up others.”
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And Alena is on the fast track to doing just that!
You can also watch Alena’s Good Mourning America appearance in the video below.
And you can watch Alena’s Stage X appearance in the video below.
Thanks for reading. Please be so kind as to pass this story along to your friends and family?
Sources:
- “A 13-Year-Old Girl, Who Completed High School At 12, Was Just Accepted Into Medical School” Little Things. Shannon Cudd.July 26, 2022.