By Lexx Thornton
Alena Analeigh Wicker, at 13 years old, made history by becoming the youngest Black person ever to be accepted to a medical school.
Wicker received an early acceptance from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine.
After graduating high school at 12, Wicker completed more than half of her undergraduate requirements at Arizona State University (ASU) and Oakwood University in just one year.
The University of Alabama informed her that she had been selected for the school’s Burroughs Wellcome Scholars Early Assurance Program, which partners with several Black schools in Alabama to offer students early acceptance as they plan to enter medical school.
I want to leave my mark on the world. And lead a group of girls that know what they can do,”Wicker stated in an interview. Although she initially wanted to pursue engineering, she fell in love with biology after a trip toJordan with The Brown STEM Girl Foundation.
“It took one class in engineering, for me to say this is kind of not where I wanted to go,” she said.”I think viral immunology came from my passion for volunteering and going out there and engaging with the world. What I want from healthcare is to show these underrepresented communities that we can help, that we can find cures for these viruses,” she added.