Texas teen was told girls of color couldn't do well. She's graduating college at 14.

[Jilly_in_VA]

Alena McQuarter isn’t like other teenagers.

She graduated from high school at 12 years old, made national headlines as the youngest person to intern at NASA and is the youngest Black person to get accepted to medical school.

Now, she's just a few months away from graduating from college at the age of 14.

And somehow, the native Texan and teenage prodigy had time to start the Brown STEMGirl, an organization for girls of color who want to study science, technology, engineering and math.

“I’ve always tried to prove that girls of color … they can do what they put their minds to," she told USA TODAY last week. "Being able to graduate at the age of 12 from high school and going into college, I just want to inspire other girls to follow their dreams.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2023/08/13/texas-teenager-science-graduating-college/70565236007/

[dem4decades]

1. Will she stay in Texas or leave? For young, smart women, is Texas

A place they'd want to stay?

[marble falls]

9. We need her here, but I am afraid if I were her I'd head out. And not look back. If we weren't so ..

... vested in being here, if housing weren't so high everywhere that the over inflated price our place would bring wouldn't cover it, if my treatment at VA in Austin and Temple weren't so effective, if we were still young enough, we'd be in western Oregon in a heartbeat.

[dem4decades]

15. She's welcome here in southern New England, there's few good schools around that would love

to have her.

[marble falls]

17. Where ever she goes, she'll be golden.

[Kid Berwyn]

2. She was born with a great intellect.

And she was raised to apply it.

We all are the beneficiaries.

[republianmushroom]

3. You are an inspiration for all girls. Continue being so.

[3auld6phart]

4. Shoot for thestars

Go for it Lassie. Love storys like this.

[erronis]

5. Sounds like she has a great family and opportunities, including travel

I wish more children could grow up in a supportive environment. And being able to travel outside of a familiar boundaries expands our mind's horizons.

[Hortensis]

10. Yes, great -- from family, community, and far beyond.

In telling Alena what she did, that one black principal failed to do well herself, and she should not be the headline.

Not surprising that this fifth-grade shooting star didn't believe it then. Smart girl growing up in a time when black women of accomplishment are everywhere.

[MurrayDelph]

16. Nothing new

45 years ago, I taught elementary school in Watts. Very early in my short career in public education*, I had a discussion with the principal who was noteworthy for three things:

1. Ass-kissing his superiors
2. Expressing his opinion that only black teachers could be effective in the ghetto (and showing blatant preferential
treatment)
3. Pre-excusing the failures of the students (him: You know, black kids don't/can't [fill in the blank]. Me: will you shut up
before they start believing you?)






*I got out after two years and went into teaching for a big computer company (that no longer exists)

[Hortensis]

20. For sure. Some people want students, especially ones targeted

for dislike, to fail, or at least serve as silent victims for abuse. Probably most of us can remember a few.

Forty-five years ago, though, was already a very different world from generations before. And as for the world the NEXT 45 have created, advances that most of us here have been part of!

Acceleration.

[no_hypocrisy]

6. One reason Jim Crow didn't want integration:

watching non-white classmates excelling beyond white students.

[Biophilic]

7. Yeah, it really does ruin all their theories and idiot proclaimations about superior race.

[Think. Again.]

8. Alena, you'll probably never read this...

...and we'll probably never meet, but I want to say to you how proud I am of you.

Not only for the things you are doing for yourself against such immense injustices, but also for how you are proving to the world, beyond any doubt, that assumptions of inferiority (of any kind) based on gender, culture, race, or any of the other stereotype tropes are just outright b.s.

And that is something you are doing for all humanity.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

11. The claim she was told cant do well...is on paper thin evidence.

She said she was in the fifth grade when her school principal, another person of color, told her young girls of color can’t get good grades or pass state tests.

That’s thin gruel for the headline claim.

Kudos to her, by age 12 clearly a prodigy.

[LiberalFighter]

18. If that is true the principal needs to be fired.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

22. Until the principal speaks, or even remembers, it's hearsay and is as persuasive as hearsay is.

If that is true…precedes any assertion without evidence.

[Warpy]

23. All girls get told this at one time or another by one adult or another

usually either a man or an Aunt Lydia. Being good at STEM will discourage people from liking us (nudge, wink) and other nonsense.

I was a STEM girl before there was STEM. I had to flee the south to find out it was valuable, at all.

[iluvtennis]

12. Awesome!!! n/t

[LetMyPeopleVote]

13. This young lady is amazing

[CTyankee]

14. Hate to be picky, but does anybody "graduate college"?

What is/was wrong with "graduate from college"?

[FuzzyRabbit]

24. Nothing is wrong with "graduate from"

"Graduate college" and "graduate high school" is grating to my "graduated from college" ears.

[onetexan]

19. Kudos to this accomplished young lady!!

On this morning's CBS Sunday Morning, i saw a clip of Morgan Freeman producing a movie on 761st black tank battalion. Nothing shocks me any more about how communities of color are disenfranchised and persecuted. to hear of young ppl, esp'ly kids of color, achieve great things gives me hope we as a nation despite all the problems are moving towards a more perfect union.

[housecat]

21. What a treasure! I would like to learn of her progress, and I want to see her on MSM.

[AllaN01Bear]

25. not just people of color . even whites were told that and they proved wrong.

eggscllent on her.

[GeoWilliam750]

26. Excellent, magnificent young lady!!