Ahmed Muhammad, a remarkable 19-year-old student from Tennessee who became the first-ever black male valedictorian of Oakland Technical High School, has started his university studies with an outstanding first-year grade.

Ahmed Muhammad, who enrolled at Stanford University in California, United States, to pursue a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, earned an impressive 4.05 GPA out of a possible maximum of 4.3 points, achieving more than 94% of the grade points available.

The 19-year-old who rose to fame after starting a science teaching company for children called “Kits Cubed” while still a senior in high school.

Speaking with KTVU, Ahmed said the classes at Stanford in terms of how he approached them were not too much different from what his teachers required of him in high school. “I didn’t understand why they were expecting so much in high school, why they were tough on me, but now, come to college, I’m directly applying what they taught me,” he said.

In her remarks about Ahmed, Oakland Unified School District Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell called him a “great young guy” and praised his efforts and extracurricular pursuits.

“We are very proud of the history that Ahmed made as Oakland Tech’s first Black Male Valedictorian in its 106-year history, and we know he will take the brilliance of Oakland with him as he tackles his next academic challenge at Stanford University,” Johnson-Trammell told TODAY.