Alina Annalee Wicker is like the other 13-year-olds, enjoying going to the movies, playing soccer and hanging out with friends, but unlike other teens, she was accepted into medical school.

In a report published by the American newspaper "Washington Post", the writer Sidney Page said that Alina is a student at both Arizona State University and Oakwood University;

At the same time, she obtained two separate university degrees in biological sciences. "I'm still a 13-year-old," she says. "I just have very good time management skills, and I'm very disciplined."

Alina Annalee Wicker is 13 years old and enrolls in medical school (networking sites)

 Who is Alina?

And the writer mentions that last May, Alina was offered a place at the University of Alabama School of Medicine for the year 2024, within the early guarantee program - which provides early admission to applicants who meet specific requirements - and Alina is 10 years younger than international students.

According to Alina, who lives outside Fort Worth and completes most of her courses online, age is just a number;

That is, you are not too young to do anything;

"I feel like I've proven to myself that I can do anything I love and I've devoted all my energies to it," she says.

The writer says that when Alina was 3 years old, her mother started noticing that she was far from being like any normal little kid;

Her mother, Daphne McQuarter, explains, "Alina was talented, it wasn't just about the way she did the assignments and how mentally advanced she was. She read a lot."

According to the writer, Alina says that “learning new skills was very easy for her”, and once she started school, she was sometimes mocked for her superior academic talents, as she remembers that “there was a small child who was bullying me, and he was teasing me and calling me: Smart detective. ', adding that her mother decided to homeschool her for several years after she started being bullied.

Alina Annalee Wicker with her mother (right) and one of her teachers (left) (communication sites)

Exceptional skills

in the fifth grade;

She returned to the benches of traditional education, although she continued to take advanced courses at the high school level at home, using a curriculum devised by her mother.

During a pandemic,

Alina decided to expand the volume of training courses she practices further.

For Alina, algebra was easy, geometry was intuitive, and so was biology. “I was bored,” she says. “High school programs were so easy for me that I graduated high school at 12.”

Alina also says that taking extra lessons has been fun for her. “I love school, I love learning, I love reading,” she says, adding that from a young age, she had a special interest in STEM.

In addition to her dedication to school,

Alina is also a successful startup entrepreneur;

About a year and a half ago, Brown created Stam Girl;

It aims to provide opportunities for girls of color who are interested in exploring careers in STEM fields.

According to the National Science Council;

Women make up 28% of the science and engineering workforce, and only about 5% of them are women of color, so Alina seeks to change this reality.

"I'm trying to show the world that there are other girls just like me, who have more chances," Alina said, explaining that her organization imposes strict application requirements and offers scholarships, mentorship programs and more resources for outstanding students.

Alina explains that there are more than 460 active members and about 2,000 girls on the waiting list, noting that the organization gets its funding through private donations.

While Alina was trying to keep up with friends and regular childhood activities, the author continues,

She also remained focused on her academic and professional goals, becoming the youngest intern at NASA in the summer of 2021 which was a long-awaited dream for her.

Alina's mentor Clayton Turner says: I couldn't be more proud, Alina is one of the exceptional geniuses (networking sites)

One of the exceptional geniuses

The author shows that over the past year;

Clayton Turner, director of the agency's Langley Research Center, read the story of 12-year-old Alina who was heading off to college and hoping one day to work at NASA, and decided to reach out to her;

"I couldn't be more proud, Alina is one of these extraordinary geniuses," said Turner, who became Alina's mentor and secured her an internship at the agency. Desire to help others and raise their level.

The writer indicated that although Alina was initially keen to pursue a career in engineering, after learning more about this field in her university classes, she decided to change her course and pursue medicine, and stated that "she did not waste time, left one of the classes, changed her major, and during the first class In biology class, I knew at that point that was what she was supposed to do,” she said, adding that her goal was to use her medical degree to help those in need.

"A big part of what I want to do is viral immunology, and I want to advocate for underrepresented communities that lack healthcare," Alina added.

Her teachers and advisors encouraged her to apply for early admission to medical school;

Among those mentors was Eileen Vanterpool, chair of the department of biology at Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama.

Although Alina takes most of her lessons online, she has also spent time on campus completing her practical lessons.

"She has a great talent, and as her teacher, I really saw drive and determination in her, as she worked hard, never accepting less than she knew she was capable of," said Vanterpool, who taught Alina in the biology class.

Alina was encouraged by Vanterpol and several other academic advisors to apply to medical school, but she knew her chances of being accepted were slim, especially because she was a 13-year-old black girl.

In fact;

The average acceptance rate for American medical schools is 7%, and blacks make up roughly 7% of those accepted.

Alina wrote in an Instagram post to her 18,000 followers about her recent admission to medical school that "statistics were that she would never be accepted," and said that her success was due in large part to her mother, who offered her many opportunities, and taught her to think and look at What is further.

In her spare time, Alina plays sports and loves going to the gym with friends. She also enjoys singing, cooking and traveling. By promoting her academic and professional ambitions early on, Alina hopes to be an inspiration to others, and to prove that someone's age should not stand still. On the way to his success.

The writer concludes her report by saying that Alina is expected to obtain her undergraduate degree by the spring of 2024, and will enter medical school that fall;

“I don’t think it will be easy,” said Alina, “but I have a huge support system around me that pushes and encourages me.” Through this, Alina plans to continue championing other young people who are full of untapped potential.