Meet the newest graduate of Fullerton College; he can’t drive or grow a beard, but he’s highly accomplished.
On Saturday, the youngest person walking across the stage to accept their diploma during the commencement ceremony will be Clovis Hung, a 12-year-old wunderkind who will be graduating with five degrees.
The school says Hung was only nine years old when he enrolled at the community college as part of its Special Admit program, which allowed him to earn college credits while simultaneously completing his home school curriculum.
Hung was inspired to enroll at Fullerton College after seeing another young prodigy, Jack Rico, graduate from the school at the ripe old age of 13. Rico graduated with four degrees – a number Hung sought to surpass.
The pre-teen will be accepting five Associate of Arts degrees in History, Social Sciences, Social Behavior and Self-Development, Arts and Human Expression, and Science and Mathematics.
Hung told the campus news service that, naturally, he feels proud.
“Hard work has finally paid off,” he said.
His mother said Clovis has always been highly motivated, curious and mature for his age. But he’s still a kid.
According to the school, Hung still makes time for basketball, video games and the Boy Scouts, but learning has always been his passion.
He first enrolled in the school in 2020, taking a history class about world civilizations as his first course. There were concerns that the paces of higher learning might be too much for the 12-year-old to handle, but those were quickly assuaged.
“After that first history class, I found out I could handle it well and instantly fell in love with college life. So, I challenged myself to take more classes,” Hung told the school’s publication.
That began the education snowball and soon Clovis was taking on a larger and more challenging course load.
His presence in the school has been a welcome one, officials said.
Biology Professor Kenneth Collins said Clovis reflects a healthy mix of a hard-working college student and an inquisitive child.
“He is mature enough that the other students take him seriously, but enough of a kid that they look after him like a younger brother and cheer him on,” Collins said.
He’s also not satisfied with being just another face in the graduating crowd.
Clovis was elected Senator for Associated Students in the upcoming semester, and he plans on continuing to study STEM courses at the community college until he decides he’s ready to apply for universities. He’s also working to obtain his pilot license, which he hopes to obtain by 16.
Ultimately he wants to pursue a career that helps people, including the possibility of being a pediatrician, a commercial pilot, or another position in the aerospace industry commercial pilot.
In the meantime, he’s happy to spend his free time pursuing his other hobbies, spending time with friends and family, and taking care of his dog, Chep Chep, and his cat, Cotton.
Hung and the 900 other Fullerton grads will accept their diplomas on Saturday at 9 a.m. on the campus’s Sherbeck Field.
One thing’s for sure, Hung has already blown us all away.
