A 9-year-old from Pennsylvania's Bucks County who has graduated from high school and is now attending college says his impressive feat is one that other young kids can achieve as well.
"I would say that you should know what you're good at and what you're not good at, because if you're not good at a subject, you shouldn't be put down that you didn't get an A-plus in that subject," David Balogun told "Good Morning America." "If you're not that good at that subject but if you're good at, let's say, all your other subjects or most of your other subjects, you can still excel and graduate at a young age."
David became the youngest student to graduate from Reach Cyber Charter School, based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and is now taking classes with Bucks County Community College.
The 9-year-old said initially he didn't set out to go to college early but when he realized it was possible, he made it his goal.
"At the beginning, I just wanted to graduate early," David said. "And then after third grade, the teacher said that I should go to fourth grade … so at that point, I decided I want to graduate at the age of 10. And my mom said, if you put the effort in, we will advocate for you and you probably will be able to graduate at the age of nine. So I decided, OK, I'll graduate at the age of nine."
David embarked on an accelerated program and studied year round, embracing a variety of subjects.
"As my mom puts it, my favorite subject is learning new things," David said. "Whether it's art, math, science, English, social studies, I'll be happy to learn something new."
He said he especially enjoys math and science, especially nuclear chemistry, and he hopes to one day go into astronomy, engineering or software development.
When he's not studying, David said he also enjoys building robots and watching online videos about everything from astronomy to physiology.
David's mom Ronya Balogun told "GMA" their family is "exceedingly proud" of the 9-year-old's achievements so far.
Henry Balogun, David's dad, said, "It has always been my joy to see my son in this position today."
"This is fantastic and we are deeply grateful to God that he was able to achieve his goal," he added. "He's still on his way. He has not reached the end yet and now he is in college."
Ronya Balogun said her message to other parents is to support your child whenever possible. "It's very rewarding but you have to kind of get yourself outside of the box and be able to see things outside of the system and advocate and speak up and not give up," she said.
"Be their own cheerleader, believe in them, even when they sometimes doubt themselves. Just believe in them and that's what I tell my son, 'As far as you want to go, go. There is no limits to where you want to go. There is no limit to your dreams.'"
