A Pennsylvania boy has become one of the youngest high school graduates of all time.
Nine-year-old David Balogun recently graduated from Reach Cyber Charter School. The education centre is in Harrisburg but David took remote classes from his home in Bensalem, local station WVTM reported.
The boy said that he thoroughly enjoyed his experience at the school, noting that his teachers always encouraged him to go after his goals. David, who has already completed a semester at Bucks County Community College, is also a member of the high-IQ society Mensa.
“I want to be an astrophysicist, and I want to study black holes and supernovas,” David told WVTM.
David and his family are now considering what college is the right choice for him. But in an interview with CNN, the recent high school graduate said he initially did not understand why his parents were so excited after he finished his 12th-grade online classes.
“Everybody started talking about how this is an incredible accomplishment, and I was thinking ... all I did was graduate,” David told the network. “And then my mom saying, ‘Yes, you graduated at the age of 9,’ and then I say, ‘Yeah, I graduated. What’s the big deal?’”
David’s mother Ronya Balogun described him as a naturally curious little boy and encouraged other parents to think beyond traditional schooling.
”There are so many factors that we saw very early when David was growing up. He is the type that is very curious about everything. And everywhere we went, he always asked, what is this? What is that? And then if you explain and you use big words, he will want you to break it down,” Ms Balogun told CNN.
Ms Balogun, who has a psychiatric consultancy, said that she never shut down David’s questions and instead took the time to explain things to him as best she could.
During the CNN segment, David was also surprised by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who finally convinced the child genius of how impressive his achievement truly is.
For now, David is keeping his options open. He said he is working on a theory that “refutes” the Big Bang, adding that he might also be interested in exploring careers as an engineer, a nuclear chemist, a software developer and a rocket scientist.
