12-year-old graduates high school, prepares for third semester at Aiken Technical College
AIKEN, S.C. (WJBF)- Graduation season is well underway–but while most 12-year-olds are finishing elementary school, Megyn Bolen has put herself in a completely different category.
“It feels really good–I feel very accomplished,” said Bolen.
Bolen was born in North Augusta, but she and her family have moved to Alabama, Texas, and North Carolina in her short–but exciting–life.
“We moved every two years, but we were not a military family,” Bolen said.
The Bolen’s moved back to the CSRA three years ago, and have been in Aiken since 2021.
People call Megyn a “Renaissance Lady”, because she has a variety of hobbies.
She loves to play golf and tennis, while also singing at her church.
Bolen is also taking guitar lessons, and managing two businesses she started on her own–she is starting a baking business called “One Stop Sweet Shop”, and the other is a jewelry-making business called “Megyn’s Wild Letter Tiles”.
“It’s pretty much a hand-croqueted chain that I make, and then I use my 3D printer to 3D print a scrabble-like tile. You can have any letter or number on it, I hang it on the chain, and ba-da-bing-ba-da-boom,” said Bolen.
All of this, while tackling a higher education that is rare for children her age.
She enrolled at Aiken Technical College in August 2023 in the dual enrollment program, taking college courses counting towards her high school diploma and college degree requirements.
Bolen just completed her spring semester, finishing with a perfect 4.0 GPA, and on the Dean’s list.
To top it off, she graduated high school on Friday May 10th, during a ceremony held for area homeschool students.
“I’ve had a lot of help and support. My dad is always pushing me to do better–so if I get a 98 on a test, he’s like well why didn’t you make a 100? He definitely pushes me, and then my mom has given me that coaching that I needed. And it’s just been rolling,” said Bolen.
As a graduating senior, she earned the Within Reach scholarship from the ATC Foundation, along with a scholarship from CNTA (Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness).
Megyn says it’s all part of her plan to become an orthodontist.
“So I recently got braces, and after I got them I was thinking about how much of an impact people like orthodontists and dentists make every day,” said Bolen. “I also have an aunt who’s a dental hygienist, and she’s kind of my inspiration for this whole thing.”
Her parents saw that potential from the time she was a toddler.
“Even at 2, she was sounding out phonics, she loved to memorize things, she loved to play memory games–she’s just always loved to learn,” said Amber Bolen.
But her mom says it was when Megyn was 6 years old that they decided they needed to try something different for their daughter’s benefit.
“It was at that point we realized she was losing the ‘exciting’ part about learning. She was like, I know how to write the letter A–so why do I need to write it 50 times? I know what 2 plus 2 is, so why I am doing a work sheet that asks me that seven times? So instead of her saying ‘feed me, feed me’, it became ‘feed me something else'”, said Bolen.
Amber and her husband, Henry, decided to pursue year-round school, where they would cover two grades worth of material every 12 months.
They would check in with their daughter to see if the pace was too fast, but the parents quickly found it was working.
By age 9, Megyn was starting high school work, and just last year the family decided to pursue dual-enrollment at Aiken Tech.
Megyn enrolled in her first two college classes last fall–with each class online–and the family found they were making the right decision.
Amber says despite what it looks like, there’s never been any rush.
“That’s kind of the funny part of it–the whole time it’s felt like a natural pace. So I think for us, rather than this was a rush, if we had gone on a normal schedule, I think it would have felt painfully slow. This really for her has been a natural pace,” said Bolen.
Diane Burchett serves as the dual enrollment coordinator for the school, and has worked with the family since Megyn enrolled.
She says her progress has been astounding.
“She was originally in a 101 Math class, which was a preliminary or pre-requisite. Seven weeks into the class, she’s slaughtering–she’s done, and way beyond where she needs to be,” said Burchett. “This is my first year doing this, and it’s just amazing.”
Megyn gives this advice to other high achieving students like herself.
“You can do it!” said Bolen. “All it needs is just a little encouragement, a little motivation, and most importantly have fun with it. You’re doing something that probably 5% of the world is doing.”
Megyn enrolled in four online courses for the Spring semester, and will soon begin summer classes as a full-time student.
She is on track to get an Associate’s Degree in Science by May 2025.
Aiken Tech says the credits she earns are transferrable and can count towards a bachelor’s degree, which she plans to pursue once she reaches that milestone.
But for now, she and her family are continuing to celebrate a remarkable young lady.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF.
