‘Never put a child in a box’: 17-year-old earns doctorate as mom earns her degree

FOLEY, Ala. (WALA) - Alena McQuarter is 17 years old and already has a doctorate. Her mother crossed the same stage the same day.

Alena and her mother, Daphne McQuarter, graduated side by side Oct. 23 at Columbia Southern University’s commencement, held at the Foley Event Center in Foley, Alabama. They were among more than 1,300 graduates, a class that included students who traveled together from Vietnam, soldiers and a firefighter. Alena received a Doctor of Education degree. Daphne earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Daphne says it all started with a simple rule: Never put a child in a box.

“She was 3 years old reading chapter books,” Daphne said. “And I knew, I think, at that moment, that there was a gift in her that I had to nurture.”

Making room

Nurturing that gift meant making room. Alena was a NASA intern at 12 and was accepted to medical school at 13. Daphne said the key was learning how her daughter learns and knowing when to step back.

Three weeks into an engineering major at Arizona State University, Alena withdrew from the program.

“She took a W and was like, ‘I’m not doing this. They want me to build a chair,’” Daphne said. “And I just kind of smiled and said, OK. ... Sometimes you have to know when to take your hands off.”

Alena switched to biomedical sciences and never looked back.

Not everyone made room for her. Alena and her mother say a principal doubted her in fifth grade.

“Having someone that you look up to ... tell you no, it’s kind of heartbreaking in the moment,” Alena said. “But I had the drive. So, you know, I proved it wrong.”

Daphne said she was determined to show what her daughter could do. “So,” she said, “here we are.”

Teachers who saw it

Other teachers took a different approach. At 13, Alena sat in the front row of a biology class at Oakwood University in Huntsville.

“With Alena, I felt free to actually teach without the limitations of the normal system,” said Marie-Claire Boutrin, the Oakwood professor who taught the class. “Teaching is not just about conveying academic information. Teaching is mentoring.”

Nyasia Brunson taught Alena in sixth and seventh grade. She has attended every one of Alena’s graduations since, from high school in Texas to college in Arizona and now Alabama. She says the drive runs in the family.

“I have watched the sacrifices. I have witnessed the prayers, the tears, the encouragement,” Brunson said of Daphne. “There’s nothing she won’t do.”

Two dreams, one stage

For years, Daphne put her own dreams on hold so her daughter could chase hers. When she told Freda Braddock, dean of Columbia Southern’s College of Education, that she and Alena hoped to graduate together, Braddock understood. She and her own mother earned their bachelor’s degrees at the same time.

“Daphne told me, ‘Alena and I, if we get the chance, we’re gonna graduate together,’” Braddock said. “And I said, say less. We’re gonna make it happen.”

In her commencement address, Alena told classmates what all that opportunity is for.

“It is not enough to get through the door if you don’t hold it open for somebody else,” she said.

Daphne’s advice for any child who has been underestimated is just as direct.

“You walk in the room and own the room,” she said, “because you belong there.”

What’s next

Alena expects to finish her Ph.D. at Loma Linda University early next year. She hopes to eventually do medical missions, and next up is her pilot’s license.

Daphne is pursuing a master’s degree in global education. She is also raising two grandsons, 11 and 8, the same way she raised Alena: one loves gaming and farming, the other the ocean. Every child has a unique gift, she said.

Learn more about Alena’s foundation, The Brown STEM Girl, and about Columbia Southern University.