At age 13, Alena Wicker made history as the youngest Black person to be accepted into medical school.
She’s a nominee for TIME’s Top Kid of the Year and founder of The Brown STEM Girl foundation.
Alena has been accepted to UAB’s Heersink School of Medicine under its Burroughs Wellcome Scholars Early Assurance Program in May.
Admitted to Arizona State University and Oakwood University at age 12, Wicker has already completed two and a half years’ worth of courses in just 12 months.
The impressive teen shared the news on Instagram saying “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. 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.”
“I really want to leave my mark on the world. And lead a group of girls that know what they can do,” Wicker said in an interview.
As if getting into med school wasn’t enough, Wicker has also been honored as a 2022 Global Child Prodigy of the World in Science Awardee. “Thanking God for every open door and for allowing my gifts to make room for me,” the young genius says. “I make STEM look dope.”
The teen previously dreamed of building robots for NASA but later turned her focus to medical school. Her goal is to become a Viral Immunologist.
“It actually took one class in engineering, for me to say this is kind of not where I wanted to go,” she told 12 News. ”I think viral immunology really came from my passion for volunteering and going out there engaging with the world.”
Above all else, Wicker wants other girls of color to know they can do anything, especially as it relates to STEM. “I want to inspire girls. I want them to see that there are no limits.”