A Gary teenager who, at 15 years old, is the youngest known college graduate in Indiana, will soon have another accomplishment to be proud of - one that's way beyond his years.
Khaya Njumbe will receive a bachelor's degree in general studies from Indiana University Northwest on Wednesday. What's more, Khaya is already a college graduate, having earned associates degrees in biology, liberal arts and general studies.
Khaya's intelligence shined very early on; he learned to read flashcards at just 13 months old, according to his parents.
“I guess a lot of people would think that I’m surprised, didn’t think I was going to be able to do this,” Khaya said in an article on IU Northwest's website. “It’s pretty normal for me now because as far back as I can remember, that’s all I’ve known.”
Khaya's educational journey hasn't been without hurdles, however. Teachers often struggled to figure out what grade he belonged in.
“We can’t get him into any school,” David Njumbe, Khaya's father, said. “He was either too advanced to be in a class or too young to be in a class. That’s the dilemma.”
Khaya wasn’t used to structure and had already taught himself most of what they tried to teach him in school.
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“At no point in time would I say we had control of his program,” David said. “He ran his own program because just when you think he’s starting something, you give him a book, two days later he’d say, ‘I’m done.’"
Khaya finally felt challenged after enrolling at 21st Century Charter School in Gary. He jumped several grade levels within a year and began taking classes at Ivy Tech Community College as an 11-year-old high school freshman, according to the article.
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Khaya collected associate degrees, while taking one high school class to remain enrolled at 21st Century while beginning to pursue his bachelor’s degree. At just 12 years old, he enrolled at IU Northwest.
Along with recieving his bachelor's degree, Khaya will also be awarded a high school diploma from 21st Century. While he'll be pursuing a master's degree first, the teenager's real hope is to study biomedical engineering.
“Right now I’m looking for graduate schools because I can’t enroll in medical school due to labor laws and all that since I’m still under 18,” Khaya said.
While his education is no doubt a priority, there's plenty Khaya enjoys in his downtime - when he has some.
He plays guitar, is a member of the Jesse White Tumbling Team and loves to read poetry from Langston Hughes and William Earnest Henley.
