Alia Sabur on not letting anything stop you
Alia Sabur, at age of 18, has been recognized as the youngest college professor in history, breaking a 300-year-old record. She was hired as a professor in the Department of Advanced Technology Fusion at Konkuk University, in Korea.
As profiled in a Today Show bio, “She made the jump to college at age 10. And by age 14, Sabur was earning a bachelor’s of science degree in applied mathematics summa cum laude from Stony Brook University — the youngest female in U.S. history to do so. Her education continued at Drexel University, where she earned an M.S. and a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering. Sabur has taken up teaching math and physics courses at Southern University in New Orleans. She has been playing clarinet with orchestras since her solo debut at age 11.” [From article posted on www.aliasabur.com]
In an interview in 2005, Sabur said talked about her achievement attitude: “Things have been not exactly smooth along the way, but that’s how it is when you do something that no one else has really done before… not honestly so much with the actual work and the class work and practicing and performing, but with everything else along the way.
“I mean, there are a lot of people who told me that I couldn’t do what I’ve done. And if I had listened to them, then I wouldn’t have done any of it.
“I would say that if you have a goal, you should fix it in your mind and not let anything stop you on the way. Because no matter what you try to do, people will tell you that you can’t or you shouldn’t. And especially for other girls, who are really discouraged in the sciences, that you can be just as good at it or better than boys.
“You can’t let people bring you down. That’s basically all there is to it.”
[CNN SUNDAY MORNING April 17, 2005]
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