On his Stanford University application, high school senior Ziad Ahmed answered the essay question “What matters to you, and why?” by typing “#BlackLivesMatter” exactly 100 times.
Last Friday, Ahmed received an acceptance letter from the extremely prestigious institute of higher learning, Ahmed tweeted a photo that quickly went viral.
“It was important to me that the admissions officers literally hear my impatience for justice and the significance of this issue,” Ahmed told NBC News. “The hashtag conveys my frustration with the failure of judicial system to protect the black community from violence, systemic inequity, and political disenfranchisement.”
Ahmed interned for 2016 presidential candidate Martin O’Malley, volunteered with the Hilary Clinton campaign and attended and was recognized by Barack Obama at a 2015 White House dinner.
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