13-year-old from Fontana accepted to medical school: ‘Don’t let anybody tell you no’
By Web staff
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LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A young girl from Fontana is living proof that you can do anything you set your mind to.
At just 13 years old, Alena Analeigh Wicker has already been accepted to medical school after graduating high school last year.
“After I was accepted, it was the most amazing moment,” Alena said Thursday on “Good Morning America.” “Just knowing that I’ve reached the goal of getting into medical school at this age was amazing for me.”
She plans on attending the Heersink School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Her goal, she said, is to simply help communities and hopes to become a viral immunologist.
She’s currently enrolled in two undergraduate programs at Arizona State University and Oakwood University and hopes to start medical school in 2024.
Alena, who was also awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award’s lifetime achievement award, said she’s always had a passion for giving back and said her family play a big role.
“I also had that support system,” she said. “They were there when I needed them. They gave me that support to say, ‘Don’t give up on your dream.'”
According to ABC News, Alena is also the founder of Brown Stem Girl, an organization she said she launched to provide an outlet for girls of color in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics classes).
But the message she hopes to convey to others is to always believe in yourself – even when others don’t.
“Don’t let anybody tell you no, because there’s a lot of people who told me no,” she said.
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