This 12-year-old college student aims to work at NASA in 4 years

Alena Wicker.
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/12 News)

When it comes to her future, Alena Wicker is shooting for the stars.

At just 12 years old, the Arizona resident is already a high school graduate, after excelling in her classes. Her mother, Daphne McQuarter, told 12 News that when Alena was 4, it was clear she had "a gift for numbers and Lego and science, so I nurtured that gift."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.