HARRISBURG, Pa. (KSNF/KODE) — A typical 9-year-old kid is just that: A kid. And if you happen to be a boy at that young age, you’re likely into video games, cartoons, playing with friends, and sports. Life at that age is simple, and it’s all about having fun.
What’s not fun for most at that age, is school — unless you’re 9-year-old, David Balogun; a boy from Pennsylvania who loves science, computer programing, and has accomplished something that’s nothing less than astonishing. It’s something very few his age have done, until now: Become one of the youngest to graduate high school — ever.
In 2020, David Balogun’s education started in the third grade, with Harrisburg based “Reach Cyber Charter School,” attending school remotely.
“One thing that digital schools can do, that brick and mortar schools cannot catch up to, is that if you miss a lesson, you can still do it tomorrow. You can also go ahead of the plan, and that’s how I went faster,” said Balogun.
It wasn’t long before he tested out of elementary and middle school, and started on his high school curriculum.
“I finished 8th grade in two-and-a-half months. Then I started high school.”
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According to WHTM (ABC-27), taking classes from his family home in the Philadelphia suburb of Bensalem, allowed him to excel at a faster pace. A reporter with the Harrisburg-based news station spoke with the Balogun family over video chat Sunday (2/5). During the interview, Balogun’s mother, Ronya, said her son’s accomplishments would not have been possible without the support from Reach Cyber Charter School.
“I said, ‘ok, this is where we’re going and this is what we’re doing. He loved it from the first moment. It’s been an amazing journey,'” said Ronya Balogun.
As of last week, 9-year-old David is officially a high school grad. He even has the diploma to prove it. The achievement makes Balogun one of the youngest known children to ever graduate high school, according to a list compiled by the history and culture website, oldest.org.
The only person on that list younger than David, is Michael Kearney, who still holds the Guinness World Record for youngest high school graduate that he set in 1990, when he was only 6 years old — yes, you read correctly — age 6. Kearney then obtained master’s degrees at ages 14 and 18. His wealth of knowledge (and most likely a high IQ) would allow Kearney to go on to win more than $1 million on gameshows.
Regardless of Kearney’s record, Balogun would still come in higher on that list than the Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, Ronan Farrow, who was 11 when he finished high school.
After graduation, Balogun didn’t waste any time when it came to enrolling in college. As a student at Bucks County Community College, David is accumulating credits toward his college degree.
Both of David’s parents have advanced academic degrees, and together as a family, they’re exploring what’s next.
“Right now, we’re looking into ivy league colleges. We visited the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Harvard. But they all said, if I’m going to be living on campus, they’d have to assign me a caretaker (pause) a 9-year-old — on campus with 20-year-olds — with a caretaker,” David said, sarcastically.
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During the video chat with WHTM, both parents were in agreement: You just can’t send a child to live on a college campus alone.
“It’s all very challenging and it’s something we really have to think about seriously,” said Dr. Henry Balogun, David’s father.
David told WHTM he already knows what he wants to dedicate his professional life too, once he completes his education: Astrophysics
Interesting fact: Balogun will already have his college diploma before he’s legally an adult.
