12-year-old high school graduate ‘wants to learn everything’

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A 12-year-old is already a high school graduate, while also earning college credits at Aiken Tech.

Megyn Bolen graduated last Friday at a ceremony for homeschooled students.

She has earned a scholarship and is working towards an associate in science degree at Aiken Tech.

Her parents say they knew she was a fast learner from a young age.

Bolen loves learning so much — it’s almost like she can never get enough of it, completing two grades every year.

It’s all for a dream to become an orthodontist.

You could call it a passion for learning.

“I want to learn everything all the time. Whenever I don’t know something, I’ll either look it up on Google or ask my parents,” said Megyn.

Starting when she was just 6 years old, every year she completed two grades worth of schoolwork.

Her mom, Amber, said: “Every year, it’s kind of like, we’ll keep doing it. And we’ll see how it goes next year. And we figured in middle school, it would slow down, and we’d have to kind of step back and not move so fast. And it was like we blinked and looked up. And it was like, she’s got almost more than half of her high school credits done. And she’s 10. You know, so what are we going to do now?”

That’s when the idea of dual enrollment came into play. So, Megyn’s family sent in an application to Aiken Tech.

Diane Burchette, dual enrollment coordinator, said: “I just thought, there’s nothing saying that she can’t. She had the grades. She had the coursework done.”

Other kids her age would typically be finishing middle school, but Megyn was graduating high school, while also taking college classes online.

Megyn said: “It feels very exciting. But honestly, it’s more. It feels normal for me. So, it’s other people’s reactions that make me see kind of how special and awesome it is.”

Now, she has 20 college credits and a 4.0 grade point average at Aiken Tech.

She is on track to finish her associate’s degree next May — at just 13 years old.

“Then I’m going to transfer to Lander for a four-year degree in public health, then I’m going to get a master’s degree, probably in public health, but I don’t know specifically. And then I’m going off to dental school,” said Megyn.

And her younger sister, Rachel, is on the same track.

“I’m eight years old, and I’m going into the eighth grade,” said Rachel.

Megyn has advice for anyone else wanting to give this a try.

“Just keep going and remember that the bigger picture is very rewarding,” she said.

On top of all of her accomplishments, she also has two businesses where she makes hand-made bracelets, necklaces, key chains and scrabble-like tiles from her 3d printer.

She also sells cake pops at a local bakery.