Nine Year Old Boy Graduates High School and Builds Robots to Celebrate

Most nine-year-olds are still working through elementary school. David Balogun was already thinking about black holes and wondering what might exist inside them.

He did not want to spend another nine years waiting to study the subjects that fascinated him. So, while still enjoying Legos and pillow fights at home, David set himself an extraordinary goal: graduate from high school at nine.

He Cleared Ten Grades in Under Three Years

David enrolled at Reach Cyber Charter School, an online school based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, while he was in third grade. Working from his home in Bensalem, just outside Philadelphia, he moved through the curriculum at a remarkable pace.

Eighth grade took him around two and a half months. He then moved into high school and completed it in roughly a year, clearing 10 grades in under three years.

By February 2023, David had graduated with a GPA above 4.0 and became the youngest graduate in Reach Cyber Charter School’s history. He said the decision to finish school at nine was his own.

“I finished seventh grade in a month and so after finishing eighth grade, I went to high school and finished that in a year,” David said. “I was self-motivated, my mom didn’t yell at me, you have to graduate at the age of 9. I decided for myself that I would graduate at the age of 9.”

His IQ Was Measured at 141

David’s abilities had been noticed long before his graduation made headlines. His preschool teachers believed he might be gifted, and later testing placed his IQ at 141.

“They gave me an IQ of 141, and they say I was profoundly gifted, which is even higher than gifted,” David explained.

His interests were far ahead of what many people would expect from a child his age. Nuclear chemistry was among his favorite subjects, while space and astrophysics captured much of his attention.

David was also a member of Mensa, but academics were not his entire life. He enjoyed piano, martial arts, sports and Legos, and his family worked to make sure he still had the freedom to enjoy being a child.

His Parents Wanted Him to Stay a Kid

David’s father, Henry Balogun, holds doctorates in divinity and psychology. His mother, Ronya Balogun, is a pharmacist and psychotherapist.

Henry remembered his son’s extraordinary memory from an early age. “Extremely curious. He would ask questions,” he said. “He is incapable of writing things down at the age of 2, but if you ask him again two weeks later, three weeks later, even four, five weeks, he remembers.”

Ronya believed David’s advanced intelligence should not mean a childhood filled only with academic pressure. “I had to get outside of the box. Playing pillow fights when you’re not supposed to, throwing the balls in the house,” she said.

The family faced a challenge that comes with raising an unusually gifted child. David could understand advanced concepts, but he was still nine years old, and his parents wanted to protect that part of his life.

His Teachers Let Him Move Forward

David’s success was not simply about giving him harder work. Teachers at Reach Cyber Charter School monitored his progress while allowing him to advance as quickly as he could manage.

Science teacher Cody Derr said David changed the way he thought about education. “David was an inspirational kid, definitely one who changes the way you think about teaching,” Derr said.

Mary Kay Pronio, the school’s gifted support teacher, described the approach as giving David access to opportunities rather than holding him to a standard timetable.

“We carefully monitored his progress,” she told Scripps News. “We were able to unlock the doors for him, and he had the freedom to be David.”

David credited his teachers with supporting his unusual pace. “They didn’t bog me down,” he said. “They also advocated for me, saying, ‘He can do this. He can do that.’”

He Believed Gifted Students Need More Freedom

David had strong opinions about what can happen when gifted children are not challenged. He said some students switch off because they become bored and fail to use their abilities fully.

His interest in accelerated learning was not about becoming famous. David said he wanted more people with unusual abilities to have opportunities to become innovators.

“If we can have more innovators, more people that can help us build society, that’s better than me being famous,” he said.

His experience showed how flexible education can work for students whose needs do not fit neatly into the traditional grade-by-grade system.

Only One Reported Graduate Was Younger

News coverage described David as the second-youngest person ever reported to have graduated from high school. Michael Kearney, who reportedly graduated in California at the age of six in 1990, is generally placed ahead of him.

Kearney later earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology at age 10 and completed a master’s degree by 14. Guinness World Records lists him as the youngest university graduate on record.

There is no worldwide organization that officially tracks every high school graduation age, so the ranking is based on reported cases. The undisputed fact was that David was the youngest graduate in the history of Reach Cyber Charter School.

Neil deGrasse Tyson Met the Young Graduate

David’s fascination with space led to an appearance on CNN This Morning on February 7, 2023. During the segment, he had the opportunity to speak with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Tyson was particularly relevant to David because the young graduate had spoken about wanting a future similar to the famous scientist’s career.

When the conversation turned to measuring enormous distances in space, David discussed redshift and wavelengths without simplifying his answer for his age.

“Depending on the redshift, I would be able to measure the exact wave,” David said. “I would be able to multiply it and find out what the distance would be.”

The Black Hole Question Still Remains

Despite graduating high school at nine, David had not found the answer to the question that originally fascinated him. Scientists still do not know exactly what exists inside a black hole.

“We don’t really know what’s inside a black hole; we can only make theories,” David said.

That uncertainty seemed to be part of what kept him interested. Finishing high school had not answered his biggest questions. It simply gave him more freedom to keep pursuing them.

His Parents Were Not Rushing Him to Harvard

After graduating, David mentioned Harvard, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania as schools that interested him. He had already completed a semester at Bucks County Community College while finishing high school.

His parents, however, were determined not to rush him into an adult environment. “Am I going to throw my 9-year-old into Harvard while I’m living in Pennsylvania?” Henry quipped. “No.”

Instead, David continued taking community college classes while the family considered his longer-term options. Their approach reflected the balance they had tried to maintain throughout his education.

Four Details That Made His Story So Extraordinary

David’s graduation attracted attention for several remarkable reasons:

• His age: He finished high school at just nine years old.
• His speed: He cleared 10 grades in under three years.
• His motivation: David said graduating at nine was a goal he set for himself.
• His interests: He could study nuclear chemistry while still enjoying Legos and pillow fights.

Those details explain why his story became so widely shared. David’s academic abilities were extraordinary, but his family also made space for the ordinary experiences of childhood.

He Celebrated by Building More Robots

After graduating high school and attracting national attention, David did not throw an elaborate celebration. His choice was far more fitting for someone whose curiosity had driven him through years of accelerated education.

“There was no party,” he said. “I celebrated by building more robots.”

Asked what advice he would give other children, David kept it simple: “Don’t give up on what you want to do.” His diploma was a major achievement, but the questions that fascinated him were still waiting, including the mystery that started it all: what is really inside a black hole?