Real-life Doogie Howser: Boy, 9, becomes one of the youngest-ever high school graduates - National | Globalnews.ca (2024)

Nine-year-old David Balogun is a certified class act.

Balogun, who lives with his family in Pennsylvania, became one of the youngest-ever high school graduates — and he’s already finished a semester of community college.

The nine-year-old began high school just before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. He attended Reach Cyber Charter School and graduated with an over 4.0 GPA before 2022 came to a close.

Balogun’s mother, Ronya Balogun, told the outlet that he was tested for giftedness in Grade 1. He skipped several grades in elementary school and has a particular interest in science and computer programming.

His parents, both of whom have advanced degrees, said it can be challenging to raise a child with such advanced intellect. Though Balogun is like any other nine-year-old — he plays sports and the piano and is working on his martial arts black belt — his parents had to think “outside of the box” in terms of his education.

“He’s a nine-year-old with the brain that has the capacity to understand and comprehend a lot of concepts beyond his years and sometimes beyond my understanding,” Ronya told the local news outlet WGAL.

Balogun, who is already a member of Mensa, the largest high-IQ society in the world, said he wants to be an astrophysicist who studies black holes and supernovas in the future.

One of Balogun’s science teachers, Cody Derr, said he is the type of student “who changes the way you think about teaching.”

Balogun currently attends Bucks County Community College, where he has obtained a few credits already. His family is currently searching for other colleges or universities that may be a good fit for the nine-year-old.

Harvard University, however, may not be in the cards for Balogun — or at least not yet.

“Am I going to throw my nine-year-old into Harvard while I’m living in Pennsylvania?” asked Balogun’s father Henry. “No.”

There is only one known person to ever finish high school before the age of nine. Michael Kearney holds the Guinness World Record for being the youngest person to complete secondary education at the age of six. In his teens and 20s, after graduating from the University of South Alabama at 10, Kearney won US$1 million on the game showGold Rush.