Alena Wicker just became the youngest person ever to be accepted into medical school. She’s only 13 years old. It’s quite an achievement for this remarkable young lady.
Alena Analeigh Wicker is the daughter of Daphne McQuarter. In a recent interview, Daphne said that from an early age she knew Alena was exceptional. Her mother stated, “It was just how she did things and how advanced she was. She was reading chapter books at an early age.”
(“She Just Got Accepted to Medical School. She’s 13”, washingtonpost.com, July 20, 2022, by Sydney Page)
During the quarantine phase of the pandemic Alena said she decided to make good use of the time by taking on extra classes. She graduated from high school last year at age 12 and is currently taking classes at two universities: Oakwood University (Huntsville, AL) and Arizona State University. This fall she will begin medical school at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
Alena has also created “thebrownstemgirl” on Instagram to encourage more African-American girls to become interested in science and technology careers. At present, she has over thirty-four thousand followers.
Alena Wicker is amazing.
But what impresses me most about Alena is her wisdom. She is wise beyond her years.
Consider the note Alena wrote to her mother when she got accepted into medical school:
"Mama I made it. I couldn't have done it without you. You gave me every opportunity possible to be successful. You cheered me on, wiped my tears, gave me Oreos when I needed comfort, you never allowed me to settle, disciplined me when I needed it. You are the best mother a kid could ever ask for. MAMA I MADE IT! You always believed in me. You allowed me space to grow and become, make mistakes without making me feel bad. You allowed me the opportunity to experience the world.”
(Posted May 13, 2022 on thebrownstemgirl, Instagram)
As I said, wise beyond her years.
But it occurred to me: Alena gave us a beautiful description of how God wants us to parent our children. Listen closely to what she says:
“You cheered me on, wiped my tears, gave me Oreos when I needed comfort.”
“You never allowed me to settle.”
“You disciplined me when I needed it.”
“You always believed in me.”
“You allowed me space to grow and become.”
“You allowed me to make mistakes without making me feel bad.”
“You allowed me the opportunity to experience the world.”
Alena’s mom loved her, supported her, believed in her, gave her the space to fail, disciplined her and challenged her to do her best.
Isn’t that what God asks of us as parents?
Proverbs 22:6 — “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 29:15 — “Correct your children, and they will be wise; children out of control disgrace their mothers.” (CEV)
Ephesians 6:4 — “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 — “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
If Alena Wicker is wise beyond her years, it is because she was raised by a mother whose heart was full of this wisdom.
Parenting is tough. No doubt about it! As John Eldridge has said: “The balancing act we parents attempt is convincing our children: 1. You are loved more than you can imagine. 2. The world does not revolve around you.”
But Alena Wicker reminds of our goal: to raise our child to become a godly, well-adjusted and mature adult who will be hard-working, kind and do good.
Not that many years from now a very young doctor may walk into your hospital room. It won’t be Doogie Howser. He’s just a fictional TV character. It will be Alena Wicker. She’s the real deal.