Child prodigies defy the laws of mental development and excel in the academic arena to the point of far surpassing their seniors.
Clovis Hung, a 12-year-old from the US, is an example of this. He is set to graduate from Fullerton College with a whopping five degrees.
To put this tremendous achievement into perspective, at just 12, if he had taken the conventional route, he would still be in Grade 7 or 8.
According to the “LA Times”, the young genius was bored by Grade 2 when he was just 7 and sought more challenging school work.
Despite family hesitation, his mother took him out of school in 2019 and began home-schooling him.
After only a year of this, Hung presumably made remarkable progress and she decided to enrol him at the university.
‘’My husband and two daughters said I was crazy. But I trust my instinct. I know he is a very unique child because he’s very curious and intelligent,’’ his mother was quoted as saying.
While very different from those of his age, he reportedly still enjoys the same simple pleasures as his peers such as basketball and playing video games.
Hung is expected to graduate with the 2023 class at Fullerton College, becoming the college’s youngest graduate in the institution’s 108-year history.
The gifted young man will receive associate of arts degrees in history, social sciences, social behaviour and self-development, arts and human expression along with science and maths.
‘’My favourite subject is history because I love travelling. I have been to 23 countries, and my favourite is Egypt because I could see the Great Pyramid of Giza and climb in … I feel really proud of myself for all three years of hard work,’’ he told the “LA Times”.
One of his professors, Kenneth Collins, spoke fondly of Hung and told the media outlet that he was not disturbed by Hung’s age.
‘’Clovis has been a great mixture of kid and college student. He is mature enough that the other students take him seriously, but enough of a kid that they look after him like a younger brother and cheer him on,’’ said Collins in a statement.
Hung reportedly wants to pursue a career in commercial piloting or explore the aerospace field.
