12-Year-Old Girl Earns College Degree

By Darby Jones December 20, 2021
After earning her associate's degree, Sawsan Ahmed will attend the University of Florida to study microbiology and cell science.

At just 12 years old, Sawsan Ahmed earned an associate’s degree with a concentration in biological science from Broward College — all with a 4.0 grade point average. She is the youngest graduate in the school’s 61-year history. Prior to Ahmed, the youngest graduate was 15 years old.

“It was awesome. I’m so happy,” she told the Miami Herald after the graduation ceremony.

At just 10 years old, Ahmed attended her first in-person biology lab on campus. During the lab, the professor asked students to find an object and swab it for bacteria. While most students wiped their desks or cellphone, Ahmed pulled out her white teddy bear, Ben, and swabbed it. 

Ahmed will attend the University of Florida in January, where she plans to study microbiology and cell science. “There’s a study showing at artificial intelligence is more accurate than a radiologist at detecting cancer, so I want to someday, discover technology like that could potentially save many lives at one,” Ahmed told WSVN.

Her mother, Jeena Santos Ahmed, has a Ph.D from Brown University, and her father, Wesam Ahmed, is an oncologist at Cleveland Clinic Weston.

As for whether she feels she is missing out on anything, Ahmed says no. “There’s definitely nothing I’m missing out on,” she told the Herald. “I still get to do a lot of things people my age do. Going to college has just been something additional; it hasn’t been replacing my childhood in any way.”

Image source: Miami Herald