Published 7th Feb, 2023

By Tola Owoyele

David Balogun, a nine-year-old Nigerian living in Pennsylvania, United States of America, has become one of the youngest students in the world to graduate from high school.

According to UK Guardian, Balogun received his high school diploma from Reach Cyber Charter School, Harrisburg, after taking classes remotely.

The student, who loves science and computer programming, has also started accumulating some credits toward his college degree.

Balogun and family upon his high school graduation — Balogun and family

Oldest.org, a history and culture website, has added Balogun to its list of youngest known children to ever graduate from high school because of the feat.

In an interview, Balogun said he already knew what he wanted to dedicate his professional life to once he completed his education.

“I want to be an astrophysicist, and I want to study black holes and supernovas,” he said.

Balogun’s parents said it was challenging to raise a child with such an extraordinary intellect.

“I had to get outside of the box: playing pillow fights when you’re not supposed to, throwing the balls in the house,” said Ronya, David’s mother.

“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.”

Balogun identified some of his teachers as being instrumental in his progress.

Balogun, now a member of Mensa, a high intelligence quotient society, has already completed one semester at Bucks County Community College.

The only person on the Oldest.org list younger than Balogun is Michael Kearney, who holds the Guinness world record for the youngest high school graduate, set in 1990.

Balogun ranks higher on the list than Ronan Farrow, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, who was 11 when he finished high school.

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