All photos via: Marietta Daily Journal
On May 10, 14-year-old Matthew McKenzie simultaneously achieved two of life’s biggest milestones when he earned both his high school diploma and associate’s degree on the same day.
“I graduated from Chattahoochee Tech with my degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and later that night got my diploma from high school,” Fox 5 Atlanta reports McKenzie saying.
Homeschooled since the second grade, the Georgia teen started taking high school classes at age 8, and by 11, started a dual enrollment program at Chattahoochee Technical College. His mother, Monique McCord, decided to homeschool her son after school officials refused to allow him to advance to a higher grade.
“Educationally, he’s always been ahead,” McCord told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “I felt like it would be a disservice to stop him.”
Now, McKenzie is this year’s youngest student to receive a degree from the Technical College System of Georgia.
McKenzie’s next stop is Kennesaw State University to study biochemistry, then he plans to pursue his Masters and Ph.D. in chemical engineering at Georgia Tech.
“I want to be a Cosmetic Chemist. I want to start my own line of chemical products, the beauty of things,” said McKenzie.
Well it looks like this 14-year-old is well on his way to making his dream come true. Congratulations, Matthew!