A 13-year-old girl is making headlines this week after the child, barely a teenager, accomplished an amazing feat. She got into medical school.
Clearly, Alena Analeigh is not your average 13-year-old girl. She was just accepted to the University of Alabama’s Heersink School of Medicine for 2024 via its Early Assurance Program.
This program extends early admission to applicants who meet certain requirements.
This remarkable girl does not see herself as special. She 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.”
Alena graduated from high school at just 12 years old. She is currently a junior in college at both Arizona State University and Oakwood University. She is simultaneously earning two bachelor degrees in biological sciences.
Alena says she owes much of her success to her mother, Daphne McQuarter. She stated on Instagram after learning about her acceptance: “Mama I made it. I couldn't have done it without you. You gave me every opportunity possible to be successful.”
Daphne noticed Alena was different when she was just 3 years old. She stated, “Alena was gifted. It was just how she did things and how advanced she was. She was reading chapter books.”
Daphne supported her daughter every step of the way. When other children started bullying her because of her academic success, Daphne even homeschooled her. Alena returned to the traditional classroom in fifth grade but continued to take high school courses online, which her mother helped her set up.
The pandemic further sped up her education. While others were watching Netflix or making sourdough bread, Alena took 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.”
Alena does not think age should hold anyone back from accomplishing their dreams. She 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.”
In addition to her already impressive achievements, Alena works hard to help others. Her organization, The Brown STEM Girl, supports girls of color interested in STEM. Her goal is to show “the world that there’s other girls out there that are just like me, and they deserve an opportunity and a chance.”
According to the National Science Board, a sobering statistic is that women make up only 28% of the science and engineering workforce. Women of color make up only 5% of that 28%. Alena is working to right this wrong.
On the off chance you were not already inspired by Alena, another accomplishment she achieved was becoming the youngest NASA intern ever in 2021. She actually switched career paths during college to pursue medicine.
Her NASA 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.” Alena is on track to do just that.
