Thirteen-year-old Elijah Muhammad graduated from Oklahoma City Community College on Saturday with an associate degree, possibly making him the youngest-ever graduate of the school, The Oklahomian reports.
Before this latest milestone, Elijah reportedly made history when he enrolled at the college in August 2020 as the youngest Black college student in the state.
“I didn’t really understand the full impact of it until my dad fully explained it and was like, ‘You’re really doing this. You’re the youngest to ever do it,'” the teen told KOCO-TV.
Elijah has quite an impressive list of accomplishments behind his name at such a young age. “I have 10 IBM certifications through Course Zero. I have one Google IT certification. I have four diplomas from Oklahoma City Community College,” the teenager said.
“He is the smartest person I know,” sister Shania Muhammad shared with the outlet. And that’s high praise– Shania graduated with a B.A. from college at 15 years old college grad. “Regardless of if you’re older or not, it’s like I’ve never seen anything like him.”
Elijah previously told KFOR that he and his siblings are always rooting for each other. “We have a bunch of competitiveness. But she really helps me out with a lot of my studying,” he said during an interview with the station.
Elijah is also presently enrolled at the Ohio State University, where he is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity and forensics, according to KOCO-TV.
The vice president of academic affairs at Oklahoma Community College said he believed Elijah was the first of many more students like him to come.
“We’re going to see a lot more individuals showing that they are cognitively ready and want to take that step, just like Elijah,” said Dr. Vincent Bridges.