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Crafton Hills College is about to see its youngest scholar walk the graduation stage.
Alisa Perales is set to become the youngest graduate at the Yucaipa, California, college with two associate degrees at the age of 10.
The whiz kid from San Bernardino will take the title with degrees in multiple sciences and mathematics, on track to receive her diplomas with a GPA “close” to a 4.0, according to California Community Colleges.
The secret to her success? She just likes it.
“It’s very fun to me — almost as fun as playing outside or riding a bike or whatever,” Alisa told KABC. “I just enjoy learning.”
Her father, Rafael Perales, told the outlet that Alisa began homeschooling her when she was only 1 year old with help from an inheritance that allowed him to stay home. While most 5-year-olds were learning their ABCs and 1-2-3s, Alisa was already reading books and doing algebra.
“We were working from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon, and we did that six days a week,” Perales told KABC. “It was a lot of work.”
Alisa enrolled at Crafton Hills when she was 8 years old. Her classmates were often confused when Perales dropped her off at class, assuming he was the student bringing his child to class.
The two years Alisa spent working for her degrees had their own difficulties, especially socially.
“We’ve had some challenges finding friends, because it’s not like she can go to school and play with her friends like an average 10-year-old,” Perales told KABC. “We’ve had to go out of our way, and bike the neighborhood and find other kids to play with.”
But Alisa did not waver from her college journey, despite being half the age of most of her peers.
“Her young age doesn’t stop her,” Sandra Ruiz, a professor at Crafton Hills College, told KABC. “She was always curious to learn, to explore new things.”
After graduation, Alisa has her sights set on pursuing a degree in computer science at a prestigious university.
“I’m going to plan on transferring to, hopefully, Stanford,” Alisa told KABC. “I’ve applied there a couple months ago, and I’m awaiting a response.”
Perales added that Alisa could potentially start college at 10, but never thought she would be graduating at this time.
“She’s only getting started,” he told KABC.
