📰 New to the Hill: Ricky II Brings Neurodivergent Brilliance and Big Dreams to FAMU’s Theater Department While many new students take time to adjust to college life, Richard “Ricky” Brown II wasted no time making Florida A&M University his home — and his stage. Just one week after graduating from high school in Virginia, the incoming theater major arrived in Tallahassee with purpose, passion and a U-Haul in tow. By the end of his first week on the Hill, he had already danced during a student showcase, won three homecoming step show tickets, and become a familiar face among his Class of 2029 peers. Diagnosed with autism at age 4 1/2, his mother initially envisioned a different path for her son, one focused on marketable trades like HVAC or barbering. “That was based on my own limiting beliefs,” she admitted. “I just wanted him to be self-sufficient. But he went to FAMU band camp and saw a field full of role models, and everything changed. He told me, ‘Mom, I feel like I was born t...