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Riverview 17-year-old becomes first in his school to be accepted to Ivy League college

Isaiah Reed
Posted at 9:28 AM, May 19, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-19 09:57:24-04

High school graduation ceremonies will begin soon across the Tampa Bay area. At Seffner Christian Academy in Riverview, it will be extra special.

17-year-old Isaiah Reed is the first student from the school that has been accepted to an Ivy League college.

Reed is a standout cornerback on the football team and has the impressive grades to go along with it.

Roger Duncan, head of school at Seffner Christian Academy, couldn't be more proud of him.

More than 46,000 students applied to Brown University in the fall as freshmen. Only 2,537 were accepted.

"Brown is a good fit for me, I feel just being in a different scene, being able to see different stuff. So I'm confident," Reed said.

Isaiah is a member of the National Honors Society and is graduating early after skipping a grade.

He'll play football at Brown but he knows academics come first, as his parents made that very clear early on.

"There's a lot of athletes in the world," Isaiah's father Charles said. "But how many athletes have high academics? So that made the pool of people we were competing against a little smaller. So I'm very proud of him. I'm excited for his opportunity to go to the Ivy League. And, man, I just can't wait for what these next four years brings for him."

Isaiah is ready to leave the nest. His mom isn't quite there yet but she's still so proud of her son.

"He's always been the one that you put a challenge in front of him, he's going to work hard to try to achieve it," Isaiah's mom Shareika said. "Regardless of what it is. He is always working to become the best version of himself, even when you're not looking and that's the stuff. Those are the things that really matter: what you do when everyone's not looking, trying to be your best self. So I'm very grateful and thankful that he has the ability to be all that he can be and he pushes and aims for it."

"He has an unlimited future," Duncan said. "Again, because of the talent and ability that Lord has blessed him with, combined with, you know, the level that's been set, as far as how high the bar is by his family. Yes, he is in a great position. God has blessed him. God has blessed Isaiah to be put in this position, and he's honored and rewarded his hard work."

Isaiah had this message for his mom and dad:

"I just want to thank them for all the sacrifices they made. You guys had to give up stuff. give up on your dreams, stuff like that. I just thank you for it and I love you."

If you know of an outstanding student like Isaiah that should be added to Deiah's Brag Book, send a message on Facebook HERE.