Grio’s Young Icon, Alena Analeigh McQuarter, starts GoFundMe to help with education expenses
The 14-year-old will have bachelor's and master’s degrees in the next few months and has already been accepted into medical school.
Alena Analeigh McQuarter, the history-making teenager and theGrio Awards winner, is already looking forward to the next chapter in her young life but needs some help to accomplish her goals.
Alena, now 14, has started a GoFundMe page to raise $100,000 to defray her educational costs.
Alena said the fundraiser is a way to alleviate part of the financial burden on her family while “not having to worry about getting the money for certain things. It’s exciting to know I’ll be able to finish my education. I’m excited to see what the future holds.”
Her mother, Daphne McQuarter, noted the financial obligations that come with a gifted child.
“She just had so many expenses that came along with her education,” Daphne McQuarter said. Alena has visited schools to determine where she’ll go for her doctorate, took classes outside of ASU that the family paid for out of pocket, and wants to study abroad this fall.
“There were so many different expenses that came along with this that we weren’t prepared for and didn’t expect, which is why she created a GoFundMe,” her mother said.
Daphne McQuarter also proudly noted that despite a heavy class burden, Alena once again made the dean’s list at ASU, is part of the Honor’s College, and takes courses that will count toward her master’s degree.
Alena’s impressive achievements include taking high school courses at age 9, her mother said.
When Alena was 12, she started taking college courses and became the youngest intern ever at NASA.
At 13, the University of Alabama’s Heersink School of Medicine accepted Alena into its program, making her the youngest African American accepted into medical school. Daphne McQuarter said Alena isn’t sure if she’ll go to that school but plans to begin her doctoral studies in viral immunology and infectious diseases in 2024.
Alena will finish her bachelor’s degree at Arizona State University in December and receive her master’s in the spring of 2024 from ASU.
And if that isn’t enough, her website, The Brown STEM Girl, encourages girls of color interested in careers in natural sciences, math, engineering and technology-related fields. All those accomplishments made her imminently worthy of the Young Icon Award she received at theGrio Awards in November.
“I’m not the future; I am now,” Alena said during an emotional speech at the awards ceremony. “It is my hope (that) with my organization, with my platform, I will continue to amplify my voice to women and girls all over the world, continue to make that space for them, and give them a seat at my table. Little girls, you will always have a seat at my table. I see you, I support you, and I got you.”
The determination she showed while receiving the Young Icon Award provided insight into her resolve. Her mother hailed her work ethic.
“She’s an amazing kid, you know. Her work ethic is, to me, unmatched. When she’s focused, she’s laser-focused.”
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