At sixteen years old, many of us spend our time at the movies with friends, watching high school football games and figuring out what we're going to have at lunch. Curtis Lawrence III may have the personality and experiences of a regular teenager, but he is far from making the same decisions as everyday teenagers. After being accepted to top institutions like Harvard University and Yale University, Lawrence III has decided to attend Florida A&M University. By doing so, he will follow in the footsteps of Althea Gibson, Pam Oliver, Bob Hayes and Will Packer.
“First, I started off thinking about what schools had good biology programs,” the Washington, D.C. native told FOX 5 about his decision.
“I started looked specifically at HBCUs because I want to have the HBCU experience, and be surrounded by the people that are just like me who are not only Black but academically talented.”
Lawrence III did not make his decision overnight. According to his parents, Malene Lawrence and Curtis Lawrence Jr., the 16-year-old student has been working toward this day since the 7th grade. He took the SAT at 10 years old and dually enrolled at the School Without Walls and George Washington University four years later. Lawrence III also learned Mandarin and studied abroad. Ultimately, his tireless effort resulted in acceptance to Howard University, Morehouse College, George Washington University, University of California-Berkeley, University of Chicago and several other prestigious schools.
“This has been a really long process that started back in seventh grade thinking about college prep,” Marlene Lawrence said.
“His goal is to get a PHD. And so we kinda helped him plan backwards and said, ‘These are the top schools in paleontology that offer PHD programs.’ ”
Lawrence III will have the opportunity to make his dreams come true this fall as he starts down the road of his biology track.
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