August 5th 2023.
At only 14 years old, Alena Analeigh is making history as a junior at Arizona State University. According to CBS News, Alena is the youngest African American to be accepted into medical school - an incredible feat for someone of her age.
The Fort Worth, Texas native graduated high school at 12 and is now studying Biosciences at ASU. When asked why she chose to pursue such a challenging path, Alena answered: “I really found, like, this is what I want to do. It’s not something that they see every day, but for me, it’s like doing what I love. It’s my passion.”
Alena has also been able to pursue her passion in research. She has become an intern at the American Cancer Society Diversity in Cancer Research program, located at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Alena has been a driving force in studying natural drug treatments for ovarian cancer and is excited to be diversifying the cancer research field.
Her mentor, Tonya Webb, expressed how impressed she was with Alena’s accomplishments thus far: “She’s used compounds that are found in licorice, green tea, and ginseng and has been able to show that some of them can cause the cancer to shrink in size, as well as look at the immune system.” Alena has also started a foundation to inspire other young women of color, called “Brown STEM Girl”. When asked about it, Alena said: “I’m trying to accomplish something, and I just want other girls to aspire to do what they love, especially girls of color.”
At the conclusion of her research, Alena plans to head back to ASU to finish college in the Fall. What an inspiring example she is for young women everywhere. It’s no surprise she was able to accomplish so much at such a young age - the sky is truly the limit for Alena Analeigh.
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