Photo courtesy of WBRZ.
Fourteen-year-old prodigy Elijah Precciely earned a full scholarship to the HBCU Southern University Honors College in Baton Rouge, La. and is currently finishing his last few semesters. Precciely is the youngest student ever accepted at the school, having done so at 11.
Precciely is a child prodigy majoring in chemical engineering and physics. He earned a full scholarship to the university in 2018 after being home-schooled in Baton Rouge.
The double major first began taking classes at the university when he was just 8-years-old. His mother, Pamela Preccieley, said she began to notice that she didn’t understand some of her son’s vernacular.
“I knew at a certain point that I did not understand some of the vernacular that he was talking about,” she said. “I said, ‘I got to get him some help.”
She added that she knew nearby Southern University in Baton Rouge had the resources to help. Pastor Steven Precciely noted that going to an HBCU is an asset to his son.
“You’ll have many Black and brown children to see someone who looks like them and does not have to cater to other institutions that are traditionally known for geniuses,” he said. “There is a greatness right here at an HBCU. There’s greatness here, and you can shine and you can get a great education here and encourage them to do likewise.”
Elijah said his priority is to help others as himself succeed.
“Well, I don’t look for just breaking records, I look for changing lives. And in that, I will break records,” said the teen. “My first priority is to be a shining light to help others, and the second priority is to make sure that I help people like me and people who want to connect with me.”
The wise teenager said that learning was necessary for his future.
“You have to have a mindset to actually know, ‘Hey, I have to learn this, my life depends on it,’” he said. “Act like your life depends on it because it does. When you learn, you increase your life.”
Not only is Elijah a genius college student, but he’s also an author. His first book, “Mission Christian: God’s Got Firsts! Coloring Book Edition: Coloring Book Edition,” was published in 2018. His next book, “My Secrets at Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College,” was published in January of last year. The teen also sells t-shirts on his website.
The chemical engineering and physics major said he is currently building an electrostatic generating socket.
“I’m trying to build an electrostatic generating socket. I don’t know if that’s a teenager thing, but I’m learning about it,” said Precciely.
The teen is expected to graduate next year.