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Johnson C. Smith University is about to have a new “young bull” on campus. 15-year-old Josiah Matthews will be attending the university this fall after graduating early. Matthews was homeschooled and was able to take multiple classes at the same time.
“I just remember doing third and fourth grades together,” Matthews said. “And fifth, sixth, and seventh grades together.”
Matthews says that doing assignments for multiple grades was extremely difficult. In addition to excelling academically, Matthews is also a musician, playing the saxophone.
“In band,” he said. “You have to be disciplined and well-focused to learn all the pieces of music, and that kind of translated into my schoolwork.”
Matthews won’t be attending Johnson C. Smith alone this fall. His older brothers, who also happen to be twins, will be joining him. Matthew’s mother, who is a teacher, also went to the university.
“I got to become myself,” the mother said. “And it was a safe place, and I wanted that for them as the transition from boyhood to manhood… I want them to know themselves fully, and I believe J.C. Smith is a great place to do that.”
While attending Johnson C. Smith, Matthews plans on majoring in computer science. He will also be part of a mentoring program on campus called Becoming Kings. The program helps students with the transition from high school to college. Matthews will spend six weeks on campus before starting classes this fall.
Matthews is on a similar journey to recent Florida A&M University graduate Curtis Lawrence III. Back in 2021, Lawrence enrolled at Florida A&M at age 16, making him the youngest student in the university’s history. He chose to attend Florida A&M over Morehouse, Harvard, and Yale.
“The support that I have from the university is one of the main reasons why I ended up choosing to come here,” Curtis told the Tallahassee Democrat. “The level of community is unique to FAMU and HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities) in general. Whatever problem I have, there’s always someone I can go to.”
