Alisa Perales, a 10-year-old from San Bernardino, Calif., is a month away from graduating with two associate degrees from Crafton Hills College.
As the NY Post reports, she will be the youngest to graduate from the community college, with a GPA close to 4.0. She will have just turned 11 at the time of the graduation ceremony.
The outlet notes that Alisa began taking college courses at age 8, after being homeschooled by her father, Rafael Perales, who used an inheritance to dedicate himself full-time to her education. He described their rigorous schedule: studying from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., six days a week. What began as home instruction quickly evolved, and on the advice of a guidance counselor, Alisa enrolled at Crafton Hills in 2023 — a move that surprised even her dad. “I thought maybe she’d get into college by 10,” he said, “but I never imagined she’d be graduating at 10.”
Alisa’s college classmates were often confused when her dad 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.”
She would have earned two additional degrees in computer science and physics had she stayed one more semester.
“When I first started at Crafton (at the age of 8), I was a little bit nervous…because this was my first time going to a public school,” said Alisa, “but then I met some really nice people, and that was super helpful.”