At the age of 7, Clovis Hung was bored in second grade.
“I wanted more of a challenge,” he said.
In 2019, His mother, Song Choi, kicked him out of second grade and started homeschooling him. A year later, at the age of 9, he also enrolled at Fullerton College.
Choi, who has been a tutor for more than 20 years, said: “My husband and two daughters told me I was crazy. “But I trust my instincts. I know he’s a very unique kid because he’s so curious and smart.”
With her mother by her side, Clovis attended classes. At a time, he studied 11 units, the maximum allowed for students in special recognition program — providing a “taste” of college by allowing them to simultaneously enroll in classes while in high school. This program is free for California residents.
“My mother wanted me to go with the pros,” Clovis said Friday afternoon, in the midst of studying for final exams. “I went to Fullerton University and tried a class, and then I found that I liked it. So I started taking more classes.”
Now 12, Clovis is set to graduate Saturday with the class of 2023 at Fullerton College — with the honor of being the youngest person in the college’s 108-year history to receive a degree. But he didn’t just get one.
“Ultimately, I will graduate with an associate degree,” he said. “I feel really proud of myself during the three years of hard work.”
Clovis will graduate with an associate of arts degree in history, social sciences, social behavior and self-development, arts and human expression, science, and mathematics.
“My favorite subject is history because I love to travel,” he said. “I have been to 23 countries and my favorite is Egypt because I can see the Pyramids of Giza and climb there.”
The first class he signed up for was a history of world civilizations in the fall of 2020, and he continues to take more classes each semester.
Biology professor Kenneth Collins said Clovis’s age worried him at first, but that was never an issue.
“Clovis is a great mix of ‘kid’ and college student,” Collins said in a statement. “He is mature enough for the other students to take him seriously, but also childish enough for them to take care of him like a brother and cheer him on.”
Clovis said he was inspired by Jack Rico, the 13-year-old who earned four degrees at Fullerton University, breaking the record for youngest graduate in 2020.
He plans to stay at Fullerton College for another year to earn an AA degree in autonomous systems development. Clovis said he hopes to attend Stanford or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a bachelor’s degree.
He was elected a senator for the university’s student union and said he will continue to take STEM courses until he is ready to transfer to a university to continue. Go college.
Clovis said he’s interested in a career in commercial piloting and aerospace.
Choi said her son is just like any normal child. He joins the Boy Scouts and enjoys basketball. He also plays video games like Roblox and Minecraft.
“I hope in the future I can invent something,” says Clovis. “I hope to meet other smart people like Elon Musk.”
