14-year-old college freshman: ‘He’s a goal-setter and an achiever’
BALTIMORE -- Fourteen-year-old West Muhammad strides into the library at Coppin State University wearing a blue-gray suit and red bow tie.
He’s the youngest freshman on campus this year, and in recent memory, according to the school’s admissions department. Not only that, but he was also one of a select group of students to receive a full-ride scholarship awarded by the school.
“So far it’s been great,” he said. “It’s also nice seeing so many Black students that are trying their best to become nurses, lawyers, doctors. It’s just great to be in an environment where I see other people, and other young people, that are trying to apply themselves to be something better.”
Muhammad decided to attend Coppin because his mom graduated from there and he’s “always been familiar with the school.”
When he was a young child, his mom played phonics CDs in the car, and he started reading at age 3. After starting pre-K, he was quickly bumped up to first grade. In middle school, he was already thinking about where he wanted to go to college. His education came through a combination of public and private schools and homeschooling, in addition to community college courses in high school.
“He’s always been accelerated,” his mom said. “Him being 14 in college — it’s like, normal for him.”
Keeping him on an accelerated track also meant shielding him from certain parts of the city, she said.
“Rather than him admiring guys on the corner, I wanted him to admire men in suits and bow ties,” she said. “We have vision boards at home, and we have a lot of goals. He’s a goal-setter and an achiever.”
Muhammad is majoring in cybersecurity engineering, due to his interest in technology.
“When I got my first computer, I started learning a little bit...