Graduation season is a time filled with joy, celebration, and dreams of the future, no matter where one is graduating from. It allows people to be proud of their accomplishments and set themselves up for success.
This is especially true for Mark Wimmer, who at only 12 years old graduated from both high school and college within the same week, impressing everyone around him and showing just how talented he is.
To graduate high school at all is a celebrated milestone in a teenager’s life, as is graduating college for a young adult.
Sometimes, though, there are those much younger who manage to do both far earlier than most. Not only that, they do both within the same week.
Such was the case for Mark Wimmer, who graduated high school and college at the same time at 12 years old.
He’s always been ahead of his peers when it came to academic abilities, but when the pandemic hit, he saw an opportunity.
“I didn’t have to commute to school, so that actually gave me a lot more time to be able to pick up extra classes,” he said in an interview with Today . “It was like, well, we’re sitting here doing nothing, right? So might as well take a few extra classes and get some stuff knocked out.”
And that decision paid off. He finished all his high school requirements in December, then spent his spring semester focusing on college courses.
Beyond his studies, he also poured a lot of time into extracurriculars and other passions of his. He’s already founded two technology companies, having started his first one, Next Era Innovations, at just seven years old.
He was nominated to his high school’s homecoming court and was chosen as the valedictorian for this graduating class.
The best part of it all is that he enjoys what he does, actively seeking out ways to further his education.
When discussing others’ fears that he’s missing out on his childhood, he said, “You know, if you look around my room, there’s Hot Wheels cars along the wall, tracks on the floor, and Legos are all over the place. I’m having the time of my life doing everything, whether that is school and my businesses and still being a kid as well.”
He clearly has a bright future ahead that many will be watching!
h/t: Today
