11-year-old Indian-American graduates with three degrees

Los Angeles, May 23

An 11-year-old Indian-American schoolboy has surprised one and all by graduating from a California college with three associate degrees in maths, science and foreign language studies.

Unlike children of his age who are seen scrolling through iPads and smartphones or are into music and games, Tanishq Abraham graduated from American River College (ARC)in Sacramento, California, alongside 1,800 students and wants to become the President of the US.

Abraham, a native of Sacramento, is the youngest person to graduate from ARC this year. “The assumption is that he’s the all-time youngest,” ARC spokesman Scott Crow told NBC News.

Abraham last year became one of the youngest ever in the US to graduate high school. Home-schooled since the age of seven, Abraham passed a state exam in March last year that certified he had met the appropriate academic standards to receive his high school diploma. His achievement last year had earned the attention of President Barack Obama — who had sent Tanishq a congratulatory letter.

He’s been a member of Mensa International, the prominent high IQ society, since he was four.

Abraham told a local TV station that the milestone of graduating from college was not “much of a big thing for me”. His mother, Taji Abraham, said he has always been ahead of the class. “Even in kindergarten he was pretty ahead, a few years ahead — and then it just went from there,” she said. Abraham said some of the students at the college “were intimidated” by him but a lot of others “were really happy” to have a child in their classes.

As for what comes next for the child prodigy, Abraham said: “I want to become a doctor, but I also want to become a medical researcher, and also the President of the US.” — PTI