An HBCU student who chose Florida A&M over Harvard, Yale, and Morehouse College is set to graduate from the institution this weekend. He made headlines in 2021 when he enrolled at the institution at the age of 16, becoming the youngest student in Florida A&M history. Now, he's set to continue his amazing academic story.

“The four years that I’ve been here, I’ve done a lot and I’ve changed a lot as a person, and I’m prepared to go on to the next chapter,” Lawrence told the Tallahassee Democrat.

Lawrence's entrance to Florida A&M wasn't conventional. After enrolling in fall 2019 at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., at age 14, where he was recognized as the youngest freshman in the university’s history, he entered into his college search with $1.65 million in scholarships and acceptance into 14 different institutions. Florida A&M gained Lawrence's enrollment because of the atmosphere of the campus that was endearing to him.

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“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.”

That level of support helped him in his four-year push towards graduation at Florida A&M, where he did the delicate dance of finding a balance between academics and extracurricular activities. Now, he's set to walk in his Dad's footsteps as the latest person in his family to graduate from college. And, per his comments to the Tallahassee Democrat in the publication's feature on him, the reality of this hasn't hit him yet.

“I feel like it hasn’t necessarily hit me yet, but it’ll probably hit me as I’m walking across the stage. I’m glad I got the chance to be here for this FAMU environment to shape me into the person I am today.”