STORY IS NEW AT TEN. IT’S AN ACCOMPLISHMENT LIKE NO OTHER 4.0 GPA GRADUATING AT THE TOP OF HER CLASS, EVEN ALONGSIDE TWO OF HER SIBLINGS. BUT THE DIFFERENCE FOR SHANAYA, SHE DID IT ALL AT 15, WHENEVER THE ALUMNI CAME BACK FROM LANGSTON THEY LIKE, I THOUGHT YOU GRADUATE. AND I WAS LIKE, I DID. IT’S JUST ROUND TWO AGAIN. ROUND TWO OF COLLEGE. SHANAYA IS A BA. IT’S KIND OF SURREAL BECAUSE IT HAPPENED SO FAST. A BACHELOR’S OF ART SCHOLAR AT 15 YEARS OLD. I DIDN’T WAKE UP ONE DAY AND SAY, HEY, DAD, SIGN ME UP FOR COLLEGE. IT’S LIKE THERE WAS PLENTY OF LEVELS BEFORE I EVEN GOT TO THIS POINT. WE’VE BEEN WORKING ON SINCE, YOU KNOW, EIGHT AND NINE YEARS OLD. A SPECIAL MOMENT AT AGE 15 WAS 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 PRIOR TO CROSSING THAT FINISH LINE, SHANAYA GOT HER ASSOCIATE’S DEGREES FROM LANGSTON AND ASK, GRADUATING TOP OF HER CLASS WITH A 4.0 IS JUST A BONUS. SHANAYA TELLS ME. IT GOES BEYOND THE BOOKS, UNDERSTANDING THAT WE ARE THE INVISIBLE BLACK SCHOLARS OF THIS WORLD. WE DON’T HAVE THE THE PRESS THAT THE ATHLETES, THE ARTISTS, THE THE SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS DO BECAUSE WE’RE UNRECOGNIZED IN SOCIETY. HER MISSION IS TO SPREAD HER STORY, HER JOURNEY OUTSIDE OF COLLEGE. ONE OF MY BIGGEST THINGS IS I’M A SPEAKER. I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO A PUBLIC SPEAKING NATIONAL SPEAKING, JUST SPREADING MY STORY, SPREADING WHAT WE DO HERE AT THE MUHAMMAD HOUSE, SHOWING OTHERS THAT, TRUST ME, IT’S POSSIBLE. IT JUST TAKES A TEAM AND HARD WORK. RIGHT NOW, THE STEREOTYPE, YOU KNOW, WITH A LOT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT. AND WE’RE LIKE, HEY, WE’RE SCHOLARS, TOO. SO THIS IS SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE CAN DO. AND WE JUST LIKE TO SHARE MORE LIGHT ON IT. YOU MIGHT BE ASKING. SO WHAT’S NEXT? I AM GOING TO PUBLISH MY BOOK SOON. IT’S CALLED REWRITE. LISTEN 13 IN COLLEGE HOW I DID IT AND IT’S BASICALLY GOES OVER THE BASIC BLUEPRINT OF HOW I EV
15-year-old college graduate shares special story, journey
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Updated: 7:55 PM CDT May 11, 2023
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 fallShania'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.
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.
