West Muhammad has made big strides in his educational journey. The 14-year-old has already been accepted to Coppin State University and is doing well as a freshman.
His mother began teaching him to read at the age of three, and when he was four, he began first grade. Even though his mother homeschooled him for certain aspects of his learning, he has attended both private and public schools.
Despite this, Muhammad never imagined that, at his age, he would be able to pursue cybersecurity engineering on a full scholarship.
He told 11 News, “I’ve always wanted to go to college and be on campus and have that experience that I’ve seen on TV and have read in books.”
He recounted, “I was a little bit nervous because, although I was ready to come to school and just go through it, it was a little interesting. People would come up to me and ask me, ‘How did you get here?’ And, I started realizing that this is rare.”
His enrollment marks a first for the institution, making him the youngest freshman in the history of the school.
Still, he has been the youngest child in his classrooms for the majority of his learning experience, so he is accustomed to the status.
Even though he doesn’t live in the dorms, the young prodigy studies diligently and is already doing exceptionally well on tests, which impresses his lecturers and the whole school.
He remarked, “For me, it’s not so much about making history. That’s important, but it’s really just giving an example to the other young 13-year-olds out there, 14, or even 15-year-olds that are aspiring to do these certain things. So, maybe, if they aren’t going to go to college, maybe they want to start their own business so it’s just a great giving that example to them.”
After he graduates, he also wants to try out his interest in journalism, he said.