By Lekan Adejuwon
If ever there was one more reason to be proud of Ekiti, here you have it…
David Balogun, shattered a global academic record as a child prodigy when he recently graduated from an American high school at the tender age of nine, a presumptive age when an average Nigerian kid is fit perhaps to earn his first school leaving certificate.
Also, high school graduation is always a special day in a student’s life, but for this Nigerian wizkid, his graduation is making history because he’s just 9 years old.
With his outstanding feat, David is ranked one of the youngest known children high school graduates according to a list compiled by the history and culture website:oldest.org
His father, Dr Henry Balogun, a distinguished scholar and medical doctor, is a native of Ikere-Ekiti who owns a sprawling out patient psychiatric clinic in Philadelphia which he runs with his wife, Ronya Balogun.
David, it was learnt, started as a precocious child and always ahead of his mates in the class because of his deep passion for science and computer programming.
His college- Reach Cyber Charter School, Hamsburg, equally offered David the school’s prestigious Diploma after taking classes remotely from his family home.
Said David Balogun in an interview he granted: “I want to be an astrophysicist and I want to study black holes and supermovas”
He disclosed that one of his favourite teachers helped keep him engaged with his studies and pushed him to keep progressing.
According to him, “They didn’t bug me down. They advocated for me, saying, He can do this, he can do that”.
The parents of David are equally marveled at the rising profile of their exceptionally gifted child.
According to David’s mum, Ronya, “He is 9 years old with the brain that has the capacity to understand and comprehend a lot of concepts beyond his years and sometimes beyond my understanding”
Worried by the next destination point of his son on account of his age, Dr Balogun quips: “Am I going to throw my 9 year-old into Harvard while I’m living in PA? No” he said
Complete story soon….
