April 29 (UPI) — A 12-year-old North Carolina boy who took a few extra classes in his spare time during the COVID-19 pandemic is now preparing to graduate high school and college in the same week.
Mike Wimmer, 12, of Salisbury, will graduate Rowan-Cabarrus Community College with an associate’s degree May 21 and will graduate Concord Academy High School just seven days later May 28.
Wimmer has a 4.0 GPA at the college and a 5.45 GPA in high school, earning him the role of his class valedictorian.
“I went through all of the grades in school at a faster pace,” Wimmer told WCNC-TV. “I’m like a sponge, I take in knowledge very fast.”
Wimmer said he had some extra time during the COVID-19 pandemic and discovered that if he added just a couple of extra classes he could graduate from both schools at the same time. He ended up completing the equivalent of two years of high school and two years of community college classes in a single year.
The 12-year-old said his lifelong interest in technology and robots led him to create his own start-up, Reflect Social, which aims to simplify how smart home technology works.
“My entrepreneurial goal is to build technology that enables people to live better lives,” Wimmer told CNN.
The boy said he is now considering his next options, which could include continuing with school, accepting various job offers or pursuing a fellowship to grow his start-up.
Wimmer said that amid his academic and entrepreneurial pursuits, he still makes time for activities like basketball and building Lego sets.
“A lot of people think I’ve given up my childhood or somehow lost it,” Wimmer said, “and I say to them that I’m having the time of my life.”