At just 13 years old, Alena Analeigh Wicker just became the youngest black student to ever be accepted to medical school.
The young girl, from just outside Fort Worth, Texas, was reading chapter books at 3 and taking high school courses at 11 — and she enrolled in two colleges at 12 to earn two separate degrees.
But she’s not focused on her age — just her potential impact.
“What is age?” Alena asked during an interview with the Washington Post. “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.”
The brilliant young teen has always been a few steps ahead of her peers but doesn’t think she’s too different.
“I’m still a normal 13-year-old,” Alena insisted.
Aside from her studies, she still enjoys going to the movies, playing soccer, baking and hanging out with friends.
“I just have extremely good time management skills and I’m very disciplined,” she explained.
Alena is currently a college junior at both Arizona State University and Alabama’s Oakwood University, where she is earning two separate undergraduate degrees in biological sciences through mostly online courses.
Encouraged by her family, educators and advisers, she applied for early acceptance to medical school at the University of Alabama’s Heersink School of Medicine for 2024.
In May she was accepted into the program — even though she is more than 10 years younger than the average incoming med student.
And regardless of her age, the chances of Alena being accepted were already very slim, with only 7% of applicants being accepted into US medical schools and only 7% of those being black students.
“Statistics would have said I never would have made it,” Alena wrote in an Instagram post sharing the exciting news last month. “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. You cheered me on, wiped my tears, gave me Oreos when I needed comfort, you never allowed me to settle, disciplined me when I needed. You are the best mother a kid could ever ask for. MAMA, I MADE IT!” she continued.
“You always believed in me. You allowed me space to grow and become, make mistakes without making me feel bad. You allowed me the opportunity to experience the world.”
Even as a toddler, “Alena was gifted,” her mother, Daphne McQuarter, told the Washington Post. “It was just how she did things and how advanced she was. She was reading chapter books.”
After Alena was bullied for being a “smarty pants” early in elementary school, her mother decided to homeschool her for several years. When she returned to normal schooling in the fifth grade, she continued her advanced high school-level courses through a curriculum her mother created — and even expanded her workload during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I was bored,” Alena simply said. “The high school work was so easy for me that I ended up graduating from high school at 12 years old.
“I love school, I love learning, I love reading,” Alena continued. “I have a hunger and desire to learn, and that’s just always been me.”
From a young age, the dedicated student was particularly interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and was eventually scouted to become the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s youngest intern in the summer of 2021.
During her time at NASA, Alena worked on various assignments including remote research for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, California.
Her mentor, Clayton Turner, the director of the agency’s Langley Research Center, recruited Alena after reading a news story about the budding engineer.
“I couldn’t be more proud,” Turner told the Washington Post of Alena’s medical school acceptance. “What’s in her is wanting to help others, wanting to lift up others.”
She has earned several awards throughout her young life including being a finalist for Time’s Top Kid of the Year 2022 award but continues to focus on her main goal: helping others.
Alena decided the best way to accomplish her goal professionally was by aiming to become a doctor by the time she turns 18.
“When I took my first biological class, I knew in that moment that this is what I’m supposed to be doing,” she said. “A big part of what I want to do is viral immunology, and I want to advocate for underrepresented communities that lack health care. It’s something that I’ve become passionate about.”
She is currently on track to complete her two undergraduate degrees by the spring of 2024 and to begin medical school that fall.
Outside of her studies, Alena founded the Brown STEM Girl organization to inspire and give scholarships to young girls of color pursuing STEM.
“It feels amazing to be able to create a path for girls that look like me,” Alena said. “It doesn’t matter how old you are. You can do it. Don’t let anybody tell you no.”
“I would say to any little girl out there that’s reading this: Never give up on you, never let someone tell you that you can’t do something.”
