When we think of high school graduation, we think of young teens on the verge of becoming adults, setting out for college. But what do you do when the graduate still likes to play with toys in his spare time, and has a bedtime of 9pm? Or when that graduate is 9 years old?

Apparently, you try to find him a college very close to home. At least that is the goal of one family from Pennsylvania. Typically, 9-year-olds are just graduating from elementary school, ready for the big step of middle school. But for David Balogun, he spent his time graduating from the Reach Cyber Charter School after taking online courses, said news outlet WGAL.

The Guardian reported that by getting his high school diploma at age 9, Balogun is now one of the youngest people to graduate from high school. Following the pandemic’s start in 2020, Balogun had just begun high school. But the pandemic forced him into online classes, which he kept going to, reporters said. It took him three years to complete. His GPA – 4.0.

David Balogun, bottom right, poses with his parents and sister, following his graduation from high school at age nine. Photo by the Baloguns

His science teacher, Cody Derr told WGAL, “David was an inspirational kid, definitely one who changes the way you think about teaching.” But for Balogun, it’s not all school. He said he enjoys piano, sports and martial arts. His real goal, however, is to become an astrophysicist.

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

Despite both of his parents having advanced academic degrees themselves, they said it was a struggle to raise a child with such a high capacity for learning. “I had to get outside of the box,” David’s mother, Ronya, said to the outlet. “Playing pillow fights when you’re not supposed to, throwing the balls in the house. 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.”

David told WGAL that some of his favorite teachers helped keep him engaged with his studies and pushed him to keep progressing. “They didn’t bog me down,” he said. “They … advocated for me, saying, ‘He can do this. He can do that.’” Not surprisingly, the young man has finished one semester at Bucks County Community College. His parents told reporters that they are looking at all their options for college.

But since he is a child, the decision is a weighty one. “We’re still kind of grappling with all these things, if that makes any sense, to figure out what is the right fit,”  Ronya said. “You can imagine a 9-year-old running around a campus by himself,” added his dad, Henry Balogun. “It’s difficult for him to focus on what adults usually like to focus on. And they might see him as ‘OK, where is the parent? Where is your dad?’ Or ‘where is your mom?'”

But for now, the family is still looking at schools like Harvard University and Princeton University. The family has been researching other schools as well, trying to find one that is best for such a young boy. 

“Am I going to throw my nine-year-old into Harvard while I’m living in [Pennsylvania]?” David’s father, Henry, said of the family’s college search. “No.” The family will keep looking for just the right fit for their special boy. Watch below to see more on the child prodigy.

Sources: The Guardian | People | WGAL