Taran Richardson got accepted into 65 colleges and universities. Richardson, a senior at Charles A. Tindley Accelerated High School located in Indianapolis, IN will be attending Howard University to study astrophysics according to WISHTV. Richardson says his interest in science sparked before he really knew what college was.
“I was always that kid that enjoyed science,” Richardson said. Richardson desire to explore outer space was sparked by watching “Star Wars” movies, however, his mother Maurita Willingham, noticed his above-average intelligence. Once she figured out what he could do in the classroom, she demanded his best and wanted it to reflect in his grades according to the news station.
Richardson played soccer, track, cross country and basketball. Along with being involved in the National Honor Society and help put together a career to stop gun violence.
“That’s the type of situation that I wanted myself to be in,” Richardson said. “I had so many options.”
“After a while, it was just mail coming in every week,” he said.
The choice of picking a college was attached to his childhood dreams.
“I asked him, ‘What is it about Howard?’” his mother recalled.
According to the news station, “Howard presented Richardson with the opportunity to be close to NASA’s headquarters and the hope of creating his own major science and technology business. Then he wants to bring that success back to Indianapolis and create opportunities for people in his hometown.”
Richardson’s desire to give back to his community is his way of showing appreciation to the city that raised him.
“The saying says it takes a village to raise a child, but with all the support that we had, we didn’t have a village — we had a community,” Richardson said.
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