DO YOU FEEL GREGORY WAS CHEATED OUT OF A CHILDHOOD?!
ASHLAND, Virginia (AP) -- He was solving math problems at 14 months, reading and correcting adults' grammar by 2 -- the same age he decided to become a vegetarian. He was explaining photosynthesis to kindergarten classmates at 5.
He breezed through 10 grades of school in three years, graduated with honors from high school at 9, founded an international youth advocacy organization, met with prime ministers and presidents, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Twice.
Now, 13-year-old Gregory Robert Smith is about to add another line to his resume: College graduate.
Greg will receive his bachelor's degree in mathematics May 31 from Randolph-Macon College, a private Methodist school 15 miles north of Richmond. Greg, who was elected Phi Beta Kappa, is graduating cum laude.
He has not yet said where he will attend graduate school. He plans to earn PhDs in math, aerospace engineering, political science and biomedical engineering, and pursue multiple careers while continuing to champion nonviolence and children's rights.
Among his goals is to become president of the United States.
"It would give me the opportunity to help so many people," Greg said in an interview in the campus office where Janet Smith spends her days managing her son's always-packed daily schedule.
Greg's arrival at Randolph-Macon in September 1999 drew so much attention that he had to schedule two news conferences -- one before classes and one at the end of the day. School officials expect a similar crush on graduation day.
Since that first day of college, Greg has shot up 13 inches -- "5 feet 7," he says proudly -- but his maturity and personal growth are much harder to quantify, said his mentor, psychology professor Michael Wessells.
"I don't have a measuring stick for it," Wessells said. "He has come much farther in three years than anyone I've ever known."
Greg already was well ahead of his classmates intellectually when he arrived, Wessells said. But the cheerful lad with the distinctive bowl-shaped mop of golden hair lacked life experience and cultural understanding.
That is where he has made the greatest strides, Wessells said.
"He has boundless curiosity, a tremendous sense of values around peace and social justice, and great motivation. His is a mind that should not be straitjacketed."
READ THE COMPLETE STORY ON CNN.COM
ASHLAND, Virginia (AP) -- He was solving math problems at 14 months, reading and correcting adults' grammar by 2 -- the same age he decided to become a vegetarian. He was explaining photosynthesis to kindergarten classmates at 5.
He breezed through 10 grades of school in three years, graduated with honors from high school at 9, founded an international youth advocacy organization, met with prime ministers and presidents, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Twice.
Now, 13-year-old Gregory Robert Smith is about to add another line to his resume: College graduate.
Greg will receive his bachelor's degree in mathematics May 31 from Randolph-Macon College, a private Methodist school 15 miles north of Richmond. Greg, who was elected Phi Beta Kappa, is graduating cum laude.
He has not yet said where he will attend graduate school. He plans to earn PhDs in math, aerospace engineering, political science and biomedical engineering, and pursue multiple careers while continuing to champion nonviolence and children's rights.
Among his goals is to become president of the United States.
"It would give me the opportunity to help so many people," Greg said in an interview in the campus office where Janet Smith spends her days managing her son's always-packed daily schedule.
Greg's arrival at Randolph-Macon in September 1999 drew so much attention that he had to schedule two news conferences -- one before classes and one at the end of the day. School officials expect a similar crush on graduation day.
Since that first day of college, Greg has shot up 13 inches -- "5 feet 7," he says proudly -- but his maturity and personal growth are much harder to quantify, said his mentor, psychology professor Michael Wessells.
"I don't have a measuring stick for it," Wessells said. "He has come much farther in three years than anyone I've ever known."
Greg already was well ahead of his classmates intellectually when he arrived, Wessells said. But the cheerful lad with the distinctive bowl-shaped mop of golden hair lacked life experience and cultural understanding.
That is where he has made the greatest strides, Wessells said.
"He has boundless curiosity, a tremendous sense of values around peace and social justice, and great motivation. His is a mind that should not be straitjacketed."
READ THE COMPLETE STORY ON CNN.COM
