Salenah Cartier is in a lane all by herself! For the second year in a row, the 18-year-old has clinched the title as the youngest graduate from the University of Houston (UH). The inspiring teen received her master’s degree in education in curricula and instruction from the College of Education.
Just a year earlier, she smashed headlines as the youngest graduate from the University of Houston, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and business.
Sharing the news of her achieving the feat in an Instagram post, an elated Salenah wrote:
“I often wondered ‘Why me?’ Why did I always get caught? Why did I have to change schools? But in retrospect I understand why it was me. Sometimes you have to go through experiences to build perspective and character. I can really say that these horrible experiences always pushed me to work the hardest, always looking for new ventures, “And always stay grateful for what I have right now. Everyone told me that eventually things would get better, and I never believed them. Well, fortunately, I was wrong.”
She also thanked her mother for helping her stay focused in her academic pursuit.
The journey wasn’t always easy as she was bullied by her peers due to always attaining high-level academic successes, hence she had been homeschooled since the sixth grade, Afrotech reports. During her preteen years, she enrolled in a self-paced homeschooling program which paid off. Cartier graduated from high school at age 14.
When Cartier first enrolled in UH, most of her classmates didn’t know that she was so young.
“No one knew how old I was,” she revealed in an interview with ABC13. “Actually, no one knew. So I was able to blend in. I made quite a few friends. I believe my college experience was pretty normal actually.”
“While I was recognized last year as the youngest graduate for my bachelor’s degree, the graduation took place online,” she continued in the post. “Being in person this year was a surreal experience.” She recalls.
Cartier not only achieved her goal but maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout the program, the site reports.
