15-year-old college graduate shares special story, journey
It’s graduation time for many students, but one student, in particular, has a special story and a special journey to share.
Shania Muhammad is graduating from Langston University with a 4.0 GPA, the highest in her class, even alongside her two siblings. The difference for Shania is she did it all at 15 years old.
The university is located in Langston, Oklahoma.
"Whenever the alumni came back from Langston, they were like, ‘I thought you graduated?’ And I was like, ‘I did. It’s just round two again,’" Shania said.
Shania referred to round two of college.
"It’s kind of surreal because it happened so fast," Shania said.
She graduated as a Bachelor of Arts scholar at 15 years old.
"I didn’t wake up one day and say, ‘Hey, Dad, sign me up for college.’ There were plenty of levels before I even got to this point, things we’ve been working on since I was 8, 9 years old," Shania said.
It was a special moment walking across the stage with her older brother and sister.
"It took a lot of work, but seeing the finish line, seeing all three of my kids across the stage together at Langston University last Saturday, was a surreal moment," Elijah Muhammad, Shania’s father, said.
Prior to crossing that finish line, Shania got her associate’s degrees from Langston and Oklahoma City Community College. Graduating at the top of her class with a 4.0 was just a bonus.
She said it goes beyond the books.
"Understanding that we are the invisible Black scholars of this world, we don’t have the press that the athletes, the artists, the social media influencers do because we are unrecognized in society," Shania said.
Video below: Meet a 15-year-old who is headed to college this fall
Shania's mission is to spread her story and her journey.
"Outside of college, my biggest thing is I’m a speaker. I’ve always wanted to do public speaking, national speaking, just spreading my story, spreading what we do here at the Muhammad house. Showing others, 'trust me, it’s possible.' It just takes a team and hard work," Shania said.
So, what's next?
"I am going to publish my book soon. It’s called 'Read, Write, Listen: 13 in College.' How I did it. And it basically goes over the basic blueprint of how I even got started," Shania said.