A remarkable child genius collected not just one, but five college degrees last weekend, and a 72-year-old man became the oldest of his class to graduate.
12-year-old Clovis Hung became a Fullerton College record holder for the youngest graduate to earn multiple degrees.
He enrolled just three years ago, at the extremely impressive age of nine, and pursued higher knowledge in the fields of History, Social Sciences, Social Behavior and Self-Development, Arts and Human Expression, and Science and Mathematics.
“Clovis is super inquisitive, mature, diligent, self-disciplined, and highly motivated. He is also very curious and traditional public schools could not satisfy his curiosity, therefore, the best option was college,” his mother said in an interview.
Hung is “proud” that he graduated and feels that all of his “hard work has finally paid off.”
The young genius plans to work in a civil capacity when he’s is old enough to get a job without breaking child labor laws. Until then, he has his sights set on the skies.
“I also just joined the Civic Air Patrol and hope to get my pilot license at age 16,” Hung told CBS News.
Contrarily, a 72-year-old Georgia man became Georgia Gwinnett College’s oldest 2023 graduate.
Lawrenceville resident Sam Kaplan opted to skip out on pursuing a higher education when he graduated from high school in 1969.
Fifty years later, he changed his mind after hearing an advertisement for a local college program in 2019.
“I was riding down the highway and heard on the radio they were offering this degree,” he recalled.
“The next exit was Collinsville, so I exited off and five minutes later, I was registering for class.”
The author of two books enrolled in the cinema and media arts program to learn screenwriting.
“I’ve always liked to write, I love to tell stories,” he told Fox 5 Atlanta. “I thought I could turn my stories into screenplays, but I needed to have the foundation of what to do.”
He said that going back to school after fifty years was a “challenge” that he was thrilled about.
“Learning how to study again and interacting with the students was a lot of fun,” Kaplan remarked. “I’m very excited, and I feel proud of myself for doing this.”
When he graduated last week, Kaplan’s proudest moment was when his 98-year-old mother got to witness him walking across the stage.
“I am so proud of him,” she said of his accomplishment. “He had many challenges, but he persevered, and I am so pleased, delighted and very, very proud.”
“With his new degree, he’s going to be so successful in anything he does. And, who knows, I might even be in the movies.”
