Youngest-Ever Fullerton College Graduate, 13, Earns Four Associate’s Degrees in Two Years

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Jack Rico may be only 13 years old, but the conscientious student has just graduated Fullerton College’s Class of 2020 with four associate’s degrees. He will continue his education in the University of Nevada.

Jack is considering a bachelor of science degree in history and has been awarded a full academic scholarship.

“I’m 13, so I don’t want to rush everything,” Jack told KABC. “I’m still trying to figure it out,” he continued, “but I just want to focus on learning right now. That’s what I love to do.”

The teen, who enjoys playing video games in his free time, enrolled in college at the tender age of 11. The four associate’s degrees he receives upon graduation in May 2020 were achieved in just two years of study.

The four associate’s degrees Jack has earned include associates degrees in History, Social Behavior, Social Science, and Art& Human Expression, according to an Instagram post shared by his mom, Ru Andrade.

Fullerton College’s traditional graduation ceremony has been postponed owing to the pandemic. Instead, a drive-by celebration was planned for May 27 in La Mirada, California.

Despite the absence of a formal graduation ceremony, Jack’s parents rented the traditional cap and gown for their son and posed for photos with the news media outside their home.

In footage shared by KABC, Jack’s mother helps her teenage son to don his graduation garb correctly before the family of three poses beside a hand-painted sign. The sign reads, “The youngest graduate ever of Fullerton College lives here. Class of 2020.”

Sharing his news of graduation on May 23, Jack’s proud mother wrote in an Instagram post: “Jack, I know today would have been your graduation ceremony and I am so sorry that you did not get to experience that.”

She added: “But I want you to know that I am so proud of everything you are and everything you have accomplished. Learning with you has been one the greatest adventures of my life.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, the youngest person to obtain a college degree in the United States is Guinness-certified Michael Kearney, who graduated from the University of South Alabama with a degree in anthropology in 1994. He was just 10 years old.

Kearney was born in Hawaii in 1984, was homeschooled throughout early childhood, and despite an early diagnosis of ADHD has an IQ of almost 200.

Allegedly, at the age of 4 months, Kearney could already ask his parents, “What’s for dinner?” At the age of 4, Kearney joined Mensa, an organization that is open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardized test. By the age of 6, Kearney had earned his high school certificate, and at 8, he received his associate’s degree.

“The professional community had been telling us to give up and accept Michael as hyperactive [...] He has an attention surplus,” Kearney’s father, Kevin, reflected. “He gets things faster than others.”

“Every interface we had with the education system was a near disaster,” Kevin continued, justifying the decision to homeschool his gifted son. “All the advice we got was false [...] We found that holding his books away was a punishment if he was bad. We used education to keep him busy.”

After earning his bachelor’s degree in 1994, Kearney went on to earn two master’s degrees and a doctorate in chemistry from Middle Tennessee State University at the age of 22.