17-year-old Salenah Cartier has just become the university’s youngest graduate for Fall 2020. She was raised by a single mother and now holds not one but two degrees, as the University of Houston reveals.
We Can Report Because of Them Cartier began homeschooling full-time after the sixth grade, although she attended public school between elementary and middle school and was frequently ridiculed by others for being at the top of her class and having high-level academic successes.
Cartier was not your typical preteen at the time, so she enrolled in a self-paced homeschooling programme that allowed her to breeze through her academics with ease.
She graduated from high school at the age of 14 and set her sights on college.
“I needed a new challenge, and attending college presented the perfect academic and social growth opportunity for me,” Salenah said.
Salenah’s mother, a strong pillar in her life, often struggled to make ends meet while feeding four children on her own. Despite their financial difficulties, Salenah did not let this affect her academic performance.
During her time at Lone Star College-Kingwood, Salenah found a method to recoup some of her tuition by selling used textbooks on eBay—which she had purchased for cheaper elsewhere—and in thrift stores.
Her mother advised her to always nourish her brain, no matter how difficult life became.
“My mum would always say you have to figure out what you want to do in life and how you want to make an impact on the world,” she added.
Taking that motto and a few life lessons on the value of self-worth with her, Salenah earned an associate of science degree from Lone Star College-Kingwood before transferring to the University of Houston.
Cartier, the class’s youngest graduate, will receive not just a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the UH College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences but also a certificate in corporate entrepreneurship from the C.T. Bauer College of Business.
I hope that my accomplishments can inspire people of all ages.” “It is never too early or too late to pursue a goal,” Cartier stated. “There will never be a perfect time to begin a journey, but if you want to succeed, you simply must begin.”You will learn at every stage of the road if you keep an open mind.”
Her ambition is to use her knowledge to help those in need and to work as a policymaker, researcher, and educator to show disadvantaged children that the sky is the limit.
