A Budding Star on the Bluff: Elijah Precciely

Elijah Precciely, 12-year old Physics and Mechanical Engineering major from Baton Rouge, Louisiana has quickly become a prominent voice among Southern University students through his academics, and now through acting. 
Of all the people Elijah comes into contact with on campus, he says that his professors are some of his favorite people to be around. “The professors are willing to educate and sacrifice a great deal to teach us. I have learned from many professors in my fields of study and other professors who have encouraged me as I pass through the building hallways,”. According to Precciely, coming to Southern University and becoming a part of the Jaguar Nation is “one of the best decisions” made throughout his young career. 
Despite being Southern’s youngest student, having a dual major, and developing his networking skills in general, these aren’t the only things that Precciely is focused on during his time here at Southern University. Recently,  he was contacted by Cartoon Network to be in a new television series called “Drawn To”, which centers around helping young adults  to identify and commit to the good things that they are drawn to and to continue developing in those areas. 
When asked, Elijah says that he was inspired to be a part of the “Drawn To” series, because one of his life goals is to be a catalyst that helps others to inspire to do what he is doing now. He believes that we don’t have to wait until we are older to discover what we love and enjoy doing, and that we can always have a “Start Now” mindset. This show “Drawn To” was created as a means  to motivate people to reach what they are drawn to and to inspire them to help others. 
While the show was in development, he helped with some prep-documentation and schematics. Along with the Cartoon Network team, he was able to take many of the ideas he had and implicate them in the show. 
One of the perks that Elijah has mentioned was being able to work with Mr. Philip Solomon, the voice actor of Craig Williams from the cartoon ‘Craig of the Creek,’ and the entire production team of Cartoon Network.  Stating that not only were they very professional, but they also know how to work with D.Y.G., or Distinguishably Different; Young: and Gifted. 
“It is great when we study about individuals in our history from decades ago, but it is even better to learn that there are young people who are also doing great things in our world today. Sometimes, we think these people started big, but many of them started doing small things in a great way. These small acts of change made a difference in their lives and the lives of others,” said Precciely. 
When asked what his message would be to first time viewers of the show, he had this to say: “First, I want viewers to understand science is awesome. When you start with S.T.E.M., especially physics, your persistence will lead to greatness, then you are guaranteed to blossom! Secondly, you are unique for a great purpose. You may see a vision of what you want to achieve, just follow the little step and you will succeed. Your greatness is in you, not someone else!” 
Despite the experience he received while working on “Drawn To”, Precciely stated that he looks forward to seeing young people become excited about learning, staying engaged with that  knowledge and applying what they learn. The Southern University community can also  look forward to reading his second book, which will be available in March, which details his first full year at an HBCU and is called ‘A Prodigy, My story at Southern University and Agricultural & Mechanical College, Year One.’
Some advice Elijah would like to give to the Southern University student body and to anyone who aims to be in film and television production is to begin communicating with those who have the experience in the area and study all aspects.  Most of all, begin to volunteer to invest what you are “Drawn To.” As of now the show “Drawn To”  can be viewed on Cartoon Network for the month of February beginning Monday, February 10th and on Thursday, February 13 on YouTube.