9 Year-Old from Pennsylvania Has Graduated High School.

Pennsylvania boy, nine, becomes one of the youngest ever high school graduates. David Balogun, who loves science and computer programming, receives diploma after taking remote classes.

Photograph: WGAL-TV

‘I want to be an astrophysicist and research black holes and supernovas,’ said David Balogun.

A nine-year-old kid from Pennsylvania who enjoys science and computer programming has become one of the youngest high school graduates ever, and he has already begun earning college credits.

David Balogun just graduated from Reach cyber charter school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, after attending lessons remotely from his family’s home in the Philadelphia suburb of Bensalem, according to local television station WGAL.

The achievement makes him one of the youngest known children to ever graduate high school. Michael Kearney still holds the Guinness world record for youngest high school graduate. David would come in higher on that list than the Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow.

David is nine years old and already knows what he wants to do with his life once he finishes school. He wants to be an astrophysicist and study black holes and supernovas, he told WGAL-TV. His parents say raising a child with such an extraordinary intellect has been a challenge.

David’s teachers say they’re proud of how they were able to individualize his instruction. His loved ones describe him as a computer programming and science whiz. “They didn’t bog me down,” David said of his teachers.

He is also a member of the high intelligence quotient society Mensa and his family are trying to find him the best university for him. As well as academics, David is pursuing a martial arts black belt and enjoys other sports and playing the piano.

“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.”

Unless, perhaps, it’s the right fit.