Child Shocks World with Accomplishment That Usually Takes Others 18 Years, Gives Inspiring Message
It’s like something out of the 2017 movie “Gifted,” except the story of this gifted child is actually true.
Nine-year-old David Balogun has managed to graduate from Reach Cyber Charter School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, earning a place in the school’s history as its youngest graduate.
“I realized that I am able to graduate at the age of 10 or 9 as long as I put the effort in, and with the help of my mom and my dad and, of course, Reach Cyber Charter School, I was able to graduate,” Balogun told WPMT-TV.
He entered the program when he was in the third grade and followed an accelerated course to complete his studies online.
“I wanted to do it because I had the abilities to do it,” David said. “So why not use those abilities to the greater good?”
Both of his proud parents have postgraduate degrees.
“He’s a 9-year-old with a brain that just has the capacity to understand and comprehend a lot of concepts that’s beyond his years and sometimes beyond my understanding,” Ronya Balogun, David’s mother, told KYW-TV.
“He’s been extremely curious about knowing many things, and this has prepared him,” said his father, Henry Balogun.
David received the 2022 Distinguished Student Award from the Pennsylvania Association of Gifted Education and is a member of Mensa International, according to WPMT.
He will receive his high school diploma in June when the other students graduate.
David has already completed a semester at a community college, so the family is exploring various programs for continuing his education.
He’s considering going into engineering, chemistry or software development.
“I hope that I can use this opportunity to show that I’m not the only one who can do this,” David said.
Reader’s Digest suggests that if parents notice these indicators, it may point to the possibility that they have a gifted child:
- Early achievement of developmental milestones, especially a large vocabulary and an ability to speak in complex sentences at an early age.
- Love of reading.
- Curiosity about how things work that spawns detailed questions.
- Ability to recognize patterns at an early age.
- Interest and detailed knowledge about a particular topic.
- Preference for the company of adults and older children.
- Ability to focus on something longer than their peers.
- Natural leadership skills.
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