March 1, 2011

Good News Tuesday: 13-Year Old Stephen Stafford Succeeds at Morehouse College

Our Good News Tuesday post this week is focused on an amazing 13-year old African American student, Stephen Stafford. This young squire is a mathematics and science prodigy who was home-schooled by his mother before being accepted into Morehouse College. He is currently in his second year and doing quite well. [SOURCE]





Even at age 11 when Stafford started at Morehouse, he got the highest score in his pre-calculus class. “He breezes through whatever I throw at him. If it’s an hour lab, he can do it in 20 or 30 minutes,” said one of his Morehouse professors.

Stafford said he isn’t nervous about studying with students much older than himself.
I just do what I always did. I show up, I do the work, and I go home,” he said.
When talking to Stafford, it’s easy to forget his age. But his age shows when he’s playing video games or even at dinner, where he eats while also trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube. Still, Stafford finds it hard to relate to teens his age.
I relate better to [my Morehouse classmates] ... most kids my age don’t know when to stop playing around and when to be serious,” he said.
Just think how many stories we've seen about the lack of academic performance of African American youth. Sometimes you have to flip the script!

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