It is amazing to know that someone who is not even a teenager yet is already in college. A resident of Georgia is barely 12-years-old and is already working towards getting a degree in college. The 12-year-old is also working for his high school credits. While almost all the 12-year-olds don’t know half of the things in their course this one is doing wonders.
12-year-old, Caleb Anderson, from Georgia is not even a teenager yet but is working for his high school credits and toward an associate degree at Chattahoochee Technical College. In an interview, his mother shared that he was always the blessed child and could read when he was just a baby. He could read when he was just six months old and when he turned 9-months-old he could sign more than 250 words in American Sign Language. He could also read words that he hadn’t seen before and that is simply amazing.
She further shared “I was getting my master’s in education so I knew that there was something special about that.” Caleb even shared his experience and told me why he skipped ahead in school. He told NPR: “They looked down on me because I was younger than them. And not only that, the curriculum was boring to me because I learn really, really fast. One day I came to my mom and she asked me, ‘Are you happy here?’ and I said, ‘No, I’m really bored. This isn’t challenging me.’”
Caleb wants to be an aerospace engineer and wants to enroll himself at Georgia Tech. Even the school is trying to recruit him. He shared with USA Today that: “When I was like 1, I always wanted to go to space. I figured that aerospace engineering would be the best path.” In the interview with CBS, This Morning one could see how humble the young lad is even after all his accomplishments and geniuses. He explained in his interview: “I’m not really smart; I just grasp information quickly, so if I learn quicker, then I can get ahead faster.”
He has two younger siblings Aaron, 8, and Hannah, 7. Both of them are enrolled in the gifted program at their school. His dad shared with NPR: “As a teenager, I remember downplaying my intelligence. Being a young Black male, there are these negative stereotypes that are reinforced quite frequently. And so, the attention is an opportunity to bring another story to light, one that we hope will inspire others to foster the gifts that their kids have.”
But the parents ensure that their son not only focuses on his intelligence but is also creative in his life and has more to his life than intelligence. They are working in a way that he is a great human being one day. According to them they work “to make sure that when he is an adult, he’ll make a great husband, a great father, a great friend one day.” These emotions and nurturing are very important for a child at a younger age. One can be as successful as one wants with hard work and determination, but things like etiquette, manners, and respect for others are important to focus on from the very beginning. Success can wait but being a good human being cannot.
