Her brother got an associate’s degree at 11. She graduated even younger.

While watching her 11-year-old brother get his associate’s degree from a California community college last year, Athena Elling was planning how she would graduate at an even younger age.

So, a few weeks after her brother, Tycho Elling, became the youngest student to graduate from Irvine Valley College in May 2023, Athena enrolled in courses at the same school. Like her brother, Athena began taking high school-level courses early and then added community college classes through a dual-enrollment program. If she completed them within a year, she would be about five months younger than her brother was when he walked across the stage.