Talk about shattering glass ceilings! Getting into college can be real intense, being admitted into your dream school? Definitely worth celebrating! For the ever outstanding Aylah Birks, a high school senior from Twiggs County, Georgia, it’s a breeze.
Currently boasting of a 4.0 GPA, a finalist for the Gates Scholarship, the determined Birks has been accepted into 84 colleges and awarded over $2.2 million scholarships.
Her pillar of support for her many accomplishments? Her mum;
“I think the main driving force behind these accomplishments has to be my mother. Just seeing her tireless effort of always taking the time out to read me a story, or teach me something new as a child,” she told 11Alive.
However, their time together was cut short when her mother had to take care of an ill grandparent a few years ago. She began to embrace independence, having to figure out things by herself more often.
“It was not easy and you will have no idea how many long nights I stayed up trying to find out the information for myself on college deadlines, college admission expectations, what to do, what not to do,” she said.
Birks uses not just her accomplishments to inspire, but writing as well, a published author, she penned the book Perspective ‘Through the Looking Glass’ which features poetry and personal experience stories.
Looking back, the inspiring teen recalls often being bullied by other students at school, thankfully she was able to rise above it all and pursue her dreams. In fact, she now became an advocate for anti-bullying.
“I was often bullied and I didn’t understand why, but when you’re bullied…people see something in you that they don’t see in themselves,” she said.
Upon graduation, she plans to major in behavioral neuroscience and legal studies with minors in communications and public health. From several universities to choose from, she already narrowed down her choices to two: Clemson and Mercer.
“My story is not ending in Twiggs County, but it’s only just beginning. I think the most rewarding part is that I’ve made my family proud and I’ve made myself proud.”
