BATON ROUGE - At 14 years old, Elijah Precciely enjoys many of the same things as most kids his age—except he is not your average teen.

“I'm trying to build an electrostatic generating socket. I don't know if that's a teenager thing, but I'm learning about it," Precciely said.

Precciely is a junior majoring in physics and chemical engineering at Southern University.

He started his college career back in 2019 as the youngest person ever to get a full-ride scholarship to the university at just 11 years old.

“Some people think I’m 15. Either I'm a tall 11-year-old or a short 15-year-old,” he said at the time of his initial enrollment as a full-time student.

Since then, he has been featured on network television, multi-patented inventor, preacher, author, and more. But lately, he has been discovering some unexpected challenges.

“I found it increasingly harder to live through doors because I grew like eight inches, and I hit doors with my head all the time. I gotta be careful now,” he explained.

Growth spurts are not his only challenge.

“My communication skills as far as sending emails and text messages, things that require you know a lot of work and effort into,” he explained.

Although he is taking big steps on campus, he has also been challenged in ways he could not predict.

“Psychology... I never knew it would be my Achilles' heel. I got a ‘B’ in Psychology. I got a ‘B,’” Elijah lamented. “I was like, it's like a Rubik’s cube. I was like, 'how did everyone do this but not me, right?' But I was able to come back from that."

In addition to his undergraduate studies, Precciely has completed other programs.

“He's able to speak up about his own differences or his own challenges," said his mother, Pamela Precciely. “Even when it comes to classes, he said he was taking physics and chemical engineering. But he also literally would say, ‘I want to make sure can I get a business class in there."

With a son who’s already making history, the Precciely family says the attention Elijah has garnered has shined a light on both his genius and on the university.

“You'll have many Black and brown children to see someone who looks like them and does not have to cater to other institutions that are traditionally known for geniuses,” said his father, Pastor Steven Precciely.  “There is a greatness right here at an HBCU. There's greatness here, and you can shine and you can get a great education here and encourage them to do likewise."

Although Elijah has already broken records and will likely break more, he says that is not where he is focused.

“Well, I don't look for just breaking records, I look for changing lives. And in that, I will break records,” he explained. “My first priority is to be a shining light to help others, and the second priority is to make sure that I help people like me and people who want to connect with me."

Elijah Precciely is set to graduate next May, and his second published book, Prodigy, is available on Amazon.