Meet the Child Genius Who Just Graduated from College at Age 11
Back-to-school season is fast approaching. Like every mother, I worry about my kids’ grades and their futures.
Are they where they need to be academically? Is there something more I could be teaching them to help prepare for a higher education?
These questions might sound silly to some. After all, my youngest is only entering first grade. College is years away.
Then again, not every elementary-aged child has years before they approach the tougher subjects. Take William Maillis, for example.
When this boy was only 5 years old, a psychologist from Ohio State University declared William a genius.
That’s quite a bit of pressure to place on such young shoulders. But he only continued to grow in his knowledge and understanding.
At the age of 9, the boy genius graduated from Penn-Trafford High School near Pittsburgh. Most kids his age would want a break from school, but not William.
He immediately began taking community college classes in 2016. William had big plans, and shared one of his deep desires in an interview.
“I want to prove to everybody that God does exist,” he said. Yes, big plans indeed for this young man.
Now, William is 11. After two years of courses, he graduated from St. Petersburg College in Tarpon Springs, Florida, with an associate’s degree.
He may have been the youngest in his class, but that didn’t bother him. One of William’s first professors at the Community College of Allegheny County even said the genius was not a note taker, but preferred to listen instead.
And William isn’t slowing down anytime soon. From speaking in full sentences at 7 months of age, to his recent graduation, this young man continues to hold big dreams.
“Everybody has gifts from God,” he shared in an interview. “And I was gifted with knowledge.” The 11-year-old will continue his college education at the University of South Florida.
He hopes to become an astrophysicist someday. His parents fully support William’s dreams and desires, too.
“I tell him, ‘God gave you a gift,'” his father, Peter Maillis, said in 2016. “The worst thing would be to reject that gift and not use it for the betterment of the world.”
What an amazing kid! No doubt he’ll go on to do great things. I can only imagine where he’ll be in 10 years.
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