9-year-old boy from Pennsylvania graduates high school

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHP) — High school graduation is an important milestone in a person’s life, however, one Pennsylvania boy is celebrating that accomplishment a bit early.

Nine-year-old David Balogun received his diploma through the Reach Cyber Charter School in Dauphin County.

"I wouldn't say it was easy all the way through," David told WHP.

His journey started in the third grade when his mother and teachers realized he was moving at a faster pace than the other students.

I noticed the moms -- their kids were struggling a lot with their homework and David had no issues with anything,” said Ronya Balogun, David’s mother.

My biggest problem was being bored,” added David.

At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, they decided to have him tested.

And that’s when we found out he was actually not just gifted, but profoundly gifted,” his mother said.

By 2020, he quickly found his way to Reach Cyber Charter Academy for high school.

I wanted to graduate so that I that could point out that, first of all, I can do this,"David said.

But he also wanted to draw attention to an issue facing young students.

I think there are a lot of kids like me out there who could graduate at the age of 10 (or) 11, “ he continued. “But, they don’t always have the resources and the support that they need to use their full potential.”

He credits virtual schooling with helping him graduate so early.

You can go at your own pace. You can finish a week ahead. In a brick-and-mortar school, you have to wait a week,” he said.

His parents said the journey to get to this point was overwhelming.

We’re still processing some of this,” said Henry Balogun, David’s father. “You don’t know how to go from point A to point B for a 9-year-old.”

David’s mother agreed.

I literally had to break the box to be able to take care of my son the right way," she said.

David also just finished up his first semester at Bucks County Community College.

But, said he is planning on applying to Ivy League colleges as soon as possible.

I reached out to UPenn, Princeton, and Harvard,” said David.

His goal is to study astronomy, engineering, and software development.

In the meantime, he is starting his own website development company.