A genius 13-year-old boy graduates with 4 associate degrees from college while most kids his age are still about to enter high school. Impressive, huh?
Homeschool Genius
Jack Rico might just be 13 years old, yet this young boy is definitely not your typical kid. At that age, he is already able to finish four associate degrees in college, namely art and human expression, social behavior, social science, and history. He completed these from Fullerton College in Fullerton, California.
Photo credit: The OC Register
A homeschool genius, Jack had always been an inquisitive kid who loved to learn even as a baby, his mother, Ru Andrade, said.
Ru works at Fullerton College’s athletics department. She explained that Jack had been to a regular school when he was younger. But when he had trouble with Math in third grade, she decided to pull him out of the school and chose homeschooling.
While this might not be the usual course of action that parents of kids troubled in school take, it actually worked for Jack. Not only did he work out the Math problem quickly, he soon began to study lessons that are far more advanced that the kids his age do in a traditional school.
Soon enough, the boy was doing high school lessons – and would begin his college courses at age 10. Wow.
Since Ru works at Fullerton College, she thought of enrolling him to a trial college class, taking up World Religion. He surprised them all. The youngster’s age, bubbly personality, and incredible love for learning earned him admiration from professors and classmates alike.
Soon, Ru was able to enroll him in more classes, enabling him to finish four associate degrees in just 2 years.
The only thing that’s made Jack sad is that he can’t join the traditional graduation rites in school due to the COVID-19 crisis. But the school solved that problem by doing a drive-by graduation parade at his house on Wednesday, May 27. This was attended by no less than Fullerton College President Greg Schulz.
So, is he going to find a job now? Well, not yet! He’s too young for that, anyway. Plus, Jack is still unsure of what he wants to be and still wishes to continue with his studies. With that in mind, he’s heading to the University of Nevada in Las Vegas to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in History.
“I’m 13 right now so I don’t really have the whole life thing figured out. I’m still trying to explore my interests and learn what I want to do in life,” Jack explained.
Go, kid! We’re rooting for you.
Difference Between Associate and Bachelor’s Degree
Both programs are offered in college. Bachelor’s degree programs are usually 4-year (or 5-year) courses of study available that provide more advanced study in a particular major. Associate’s degree programs are 2-year programs that help prepare students for a career or to transfer into a bachelor’s degree program.