When I was 16, I was playing Pokemon Silver under a tree in my front yard. The life of 16 year-old Grace Bush, though, is apparently much more advanced than my was.  Unlike most high school seniors, when she walks at graduation this week, she won’t be worried about college next year – because she’s already finished. One of nine children, a couple Grace’s family members have also received their degrees at an accelerated rate, but nothing quite like this.

Bush’s high school, Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, offers a unique program where students are given the opportunity to enroll in college courses while still attending normal HS classes and earn credits for a higher degree. This is a very popular program today, especially with college expenses on an exponential rise each year. It gives kids the chance to get a head start on college in an environment they are already familiar with. Grace finished this course and completed all of her college credits, while still managing her daily teenage life as a high school student.

“I started when I was 13 at Broward College and I also took my classes throughout the Summer, so I was able to finish it before four years,” Bush said after receiving her degree from Florida Atlantic University.

So what’s next for Grace Bush? Besides having the greatest Summer of her life, she plans to start pursuing her master’s degree soon and “would eventually like to go to law school and then become chief justice of the United States”. Dream big, achieve big.

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Matt Whitlock – @mattwhitlockPM