Elijah Muhammad has become the youngest Black college student in Oklahoma.
According to Yahoo News, Elijah recently became an Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) freshman at just 12 years old. The previously homeschooled student has been enrolled in three classes as part of his major, cybersecurity and began taking them over the summer. He reportedly attended his father, Elijah Sr.’s Prep One Collegiate Academy before heading to OCCC.
‘“How old are you?’” he recalled his shocked classmates asking him when he first walked in. “Once I told them my age, they all got surprised.”
Following his undergraduate career, Elijah reportedly plans to follow family tradition and attend an HBCU for his bachelor’s, master and doctoral degrees. His mom recently earned her doctorate from Hampton University and is currently an assistant professor and director of operations at Langston University.
“I heard Hampton does have a good cyber security program, but I’m just exploring my options right now,” he said.
His sister, Shania Muhammad, also made history as she reportedly became the youngest person to enroll in OCCC at 13 years old. She was also the youngest to graduate at age 14 in May. When Elijah graduates, however, he will reportedly beat out his sister as the youngest OCCC graduate at age 13.
Elijah Sr. said the two compete against each other in nearly everything.
“When he sees her accomplish certain things, he’s like I’m up next, and I can do it,” he said. “We are the cheering section for our scholars.”
Elijah added that despite the competitiveness, his sister “helps” him “with a lot of” his studies.
“We have a bunch of competitiveness, but she really helps me out with a lot of my studying,” he said.
OCCC’s vice president of academic affairs, Dr. Vincent Bridges, said the landscape of the college has changed over the years.
“We’re going to see a lot more individuals showing that they are cognitively ready and want to take that step, just like Elijah,” he said.
Not only is the tween very studious, but he’s also athletically inclined, as he’s reportedly a three-time state champion wrestler. He also spends lots of time playing coding games on his computer and even started his own clothing line called Smart Boy clothes.
