12-Year-Old Arizona Girl Heading To College, Plans To Work For NASA

A young girl from Arizona is heading off to college in hopes of one day working for NASA, reported 19 News.

12-year-old Alena Wicker has already graduated from high school. She aced all of her homeschool classes and will begin college classes at Arizona State University this summer.

Wicker has big dreams of working for NASA as an engineer.

Alena said, "I just had a goal that I wanted to get to. I always dreamed of being an engineer because throughout my life, I liked building."

Alena began building lego sets when she was an infant. Her dreams turned to NASA just a few short years later.

Alena's mom Daphne McQuarter said:

"At four years old, she said, 'Mommy, I'm going to work for NASA, and I'm going to go up there.' She would point to the stars. She just had a gift for numbers and Legos and science, so I started nurturing that gift."

Alena will be double majoring in college. She plans to study astronomical and planetary science as well as chemistry.

If everything goes to plan, Alena will be graduating from college at just 16. She said, "I'll be driving one of those future space mobiles by the time I graduate college. It doesn't matter what your age is or what you're planning to do. Go for it, dream, then accomplish it."

Photo: Getty Images