A 12-year-old from North Carolina has graduated not only from high school but he’s also graduated from college in the same week.
Mike Wimmer, 12, increased his academic workload over the pandemic since not having to commute to school gave him extra time to pick up some extra classes.
“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,” he told TODAY’s, Morgan Radford.
Back in December, Mike finished his high school requirements and focused on his community college work during the spring semester.
During his interview with Radford, Mike said he’s always been an advanced student. His love for learning made it easier to study, but sometimes he did find it difficult to be taken seriously and get access to the classes he wanted to take.
“There’s a lot of people, the minute they see my age, they’re like ‘Oh, well, you can’t do this curriculum,’ or ‘It’s too rigorous for you,’ those kinds of things,” Mike said. “So really, just gaining credibility and finding educators that wanted to foster my abilities was the hardest part.”
In addition to Mike’s academics, he’s devoted his free time to extracurriculars, including starting two technology companies. He started his first company Next Era Innovations, just when he was 7 years old.
He says even though he’s dedicated his time to his academics and entrepreneurship, he also keeps time to still being a kid. “You know, if you look around my room, there’s Hot Wheels cars along the wall, tracks on the floor, and Legos all over the place,” he said.
He also wants to encourage other kids to follow their dreams, even if there are any hurdles that come their way.
“When one door closes, there’s always another door, even a window you can crawl through,” he said.
