A 12-year-old wonderkid from Florida just graduated college after finishing high school
Sawsam Ahmed is only 12 and has already graduated college. This pre-teen from Weston, Florida graduated from Broward College with an associate degree on December 15 with a perfect 4.0 GPA. She will attend the University of Florida in the upcoming Spring to study biology, chemistry, and computer programming, per Good Morning America. Sawsan's family stated that they recognized that she was intellectually bright during her homeschooling sessions. She had no difficulty doing a curriculum far advanced for her grade level.
Wow! Florida girl Sawsan Ahmed graduated from Broward College with an associate degree and a 4.0 GPA. In the spring, the 12-year-old will attend the University of Florida to study computer programming, chemistry and biology. (via Good Morning America) https://t.co/ef3UCBSV6x
— clevelanddotcom (@clevelanddotcom) January 5, 2022
Jeena Santos Ahmed, Sawsam's mother talked to ABC News. "All of her education has pretty much been child-led. Whenever she shows an interest in something, we sort of dive into it and try to follow her interest as best that we can." She also talked about how they contributed to her learning. "We talked to her about new developments that we read about, we let her listen to NPR and learn about new scientific discoveries." Sawsan graduated from high school at the young age of nine and passed a post-secondary education readiness test, allowing her to enroll in college classes.
Sawsan’s mother, Jeena Santos Ahmed, told ABC News. “We talked to her about new developments that we read about, we let her listen to NPR and learn about new scientific discoveries."https://t.co/4pZQgtLDA4
— Isabel Lara (@isalara) January 5, 2022
Sawsan began by attending one class every semester at Broward College to familiarise himself with the difficulty of the higher subjects. When the pandemic struck, many of her extracurricular activities were either relocated or discontinued giving her an opportunity to enroll in many college classes at the same time. She says, "Their courses with Python programming through biology really caught my interest. It's an amazing place for really studying those topics so it's really cool that I was accepted I get to go there next semester." She is the youngest person in her class and on campus. She states with pride that in the beginning everyone underestimated her and was trying to help her out. However, at the end of the semester, she was the one helping everyone out.
Sawsan Ahmed is 12 years old.
— Londyn Robinson, MD (@londyloo) January 5, 2022
She just graduated from Broward college with an associates degree.
She is enrolling in Univ of Florida for Genetics major at 12 years old.
She will graduate with a bachelors of science at age 16.
She hopes to be an MD/PhD.
What a cool kid. https://t.co/IABWNZuMP3
Amber Abels, an assistant biology lecturer at Broward College, told ABC News about her, "The thing I remember most is that she was always ready to do lab work everyday, like, exceptionally excited. It was great. She was more than able to keep up and was an excellent student." Ahmed might be ahead academically but she is still a child at heart who loves art, Disney movies, and video games and does everything a 12-year-old does. Last summer, Sawsan was visiting her family when she discovered she had been admitted to the University of Florida. She intends to study further after completing her bachelor's degree, with the goal of becoming an M.D. or a Ph.D.
She has something to say to all the kids who dream big, "Shoot for the stars and don't underestimate yourself. That mentality is what brought me here."