Ziad Ahmed, an 18-year-old Bangladeshi-American student, says he was accepted into Stanford after only writing #BlackLivesMatter 100 times for the essay portion of his application when asked, “What matters to you, and why?”
According to the Independent, the young practicing Muslim tweeted his acceptance letter from the prestigious California school on Twitter this week alongside a copy of his letter.
He did it to highlight the excessive use of police force, "which disproportionately kills black men and women."
“Everyone who received your application was inspired by your passion, determination, accomplishments, and heart,” the acceptance letter read.
“You are, quite simply, a fantastic match with Stanford. You will bring something original and extraordinary to our campus – a place where you can learn, grow, and thrive," it added.
Ahmed, who interned at the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, told MIC that to him, being a Muslim is being a BLM ally, "and I honestly can't imagine it being any other way for me."
"Furthermore, it's critical to realize that one-fourth to one-third of the Muslim community in America are black ... and to separate justice for Muslims from justices for the black community is to erase the realities of the plurality of our community," he said.
Ahmed already has an excellent track record. He is the founder and president of Redefy -a teen organization of about 300 students around the world working collaboratively to defy stereotypes- and co-founder of his own youth-centered consulting firm called JÜV Consulting.
Apart from being accepted at Stanford, Ahmed told MIC he had also been accepted to Yale and Princeton University. He intends to study either international relations, or cognitive science, or economics or comparative studies in race and ethnicity.
And we can't but wish him the best of luck.