An 18-year-old black teen made local history by becoming the first black male to graduate as valedictorian from Oakland Technical High School. Ahmed Muhammad earned the highest academic rank in his class, holding a 4.37 GPA. He is also an accomplished athlete and part of the school’s varsity basketball team.

However, this is not the only impressive achievement this young man has under his belt. The student is also the founder of a science education company called Kits Cubed. The company, which was launched last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, creates affordable science kits for elementary and middle school-age kids.

“Founding Kits Cubed was the culmination of all of the valuable lessons I learned throughout high school from so many amazing people,” Muhammad explained during an interview with KTVU. “I’m glad we were able to create something meaningful before graduating.”

KTVU reported that Muhammad “received a score of 1540 with a perfect 800 in the Math section and a 740 in the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section. On top of all that, he will leave his mark as a stand-out athlete who was an integral member of the Bulldog’s varsity basketball team.”

The young man has a bright future ahead of him with 11 universities offering him a place in among their student body. While he has not yet made a decision as to which university to attend, he plans to major in engineering and computer science. “It feels amazing. I’m grateful to be accepted to any single college, but 11 of them? I had never imagined this,” Muhammad said.

His academics are most impressive, but the youngster said he is most proud of his entrepreneurial pursuits. “I’m most proud of the impact that Kits Cubed has had on our community’s youth,” he said.

The company began as a little “backyard project” but now, it is staffed by a team of other teens. Muhammad wants to encourage other minority teams to become involved in the math and science fields.

Muhammad, who is poised to be a first-generation college student in his family, is grateful for his parents who worked hard and served as role models to help him reach his goals. He hopes to inspire other young people to achieve success as well. The young entrepreneur even wound up on NFL star Marshawn Lynch’s radar. The football player reached out to Muhammad to offer his support.

Muhammad is serious about building up his community. KTVU reported:

Developing the company has been deeply meaningful to the teen, because a big motivation behind his hard work has been to make an impact on young people in his community and to serve as a role model.

To that end, he’s also spent much of his high school years volunteering as a tutor and mentor to grade school and middle school age kids, who have also become a great source of pride to Muhammad.

Muhammad said his father is his greatest role model. Neither of his parents attended university, which means he will be a first-generation college student. “He’s taught me everything that I know and continues to teach me each and every day,” he said. “By watching him I’ve learned what wisdom, hard work, passion, commitment, caring, and so many other values are, and I hope that one day I can be as great of a son as he is a father.