This high school student is serious about his activism.
Ziad Ahmed has made waves on social media sharing screenshots of his Stanford application and acceptance letter. A photo of his application shows the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag repeated over and over, in response to the question, “What matters to you, and why?”
I submitted this answer in my @Stanford application, & yesterday, I was admitted…#BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/R5YxM77bWL
— Ziad Ahmed (@ziadtheactivist) April 1, 2017
He confirmed to USA TODAY College that, yes, he did indeed submit the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag 100 times in his Stanford University application. Ahmed is known to be active within the Black Lives Matter circle as a vocal ally. Other well-known activists and leaders in the movement retweeted his tweet and congratulated him. Perhaps his acceptance to Stanford isn’t only because of his bold application statement, but because of Ahmed’s long resume.
The Bangladeshi-American teen worked on the Martin O’Malley campaign in the 2016 presidential season, before joining the Hillary Clinton as a volunteer under the campaign’s Muslim outreach director. He’s also interned at the U.S. State Department. He was once recognized by President Barack Obama at a dinner for Muslim Americans.
Ahmed founded Redefy, an advocacy organization pushing tolerance of differences, when he was a freshman at high school in Princeton, New Jersey. As president, he leads more than 200 members to push past stereotypes at Redefy. He also works as a chief visionary officer for JUV Consulting after founding the firm with Melinda Guo, to work with business on relevant targeting to young individuals.
Business Insider named him a world-changing prodigy, and in 2015 MTV News identified him as a world-changing teen. Ahmed has until May 1 to decide if he wants to attend Stanford. He’s also received acceptances from Yale and Princeton, according to Mic.
Stanford University told USA TODAY College they do not comment on student applications. The image of the acceptance letter Ahmed posted on Twitter says, “Everyone who reviewed your application was inspired by your passion, determination, accomplishments, and heart.”
This article was previously posted on USA TODAY COLLEGE website.
