Anthaea-Grace Patricia Dennis graduated from college this past weekend, becoming Canada’s youngest-ever graduate.
On June 11, Patricia Dennis walked across the stage at the University of Ottawa with her biomedical science bachelor’s degree at the age of 12.
“I’m going to be proud. I’m going to hope I don’t fall off the stage,” she told CBC ahead of graduation. “I’m going to be happy for myself too, not just for other people. I am proud of myself for getting to this point, despite all the hurdles and blocks that there have been for a person like me.”
CBC reported that the young college graduate completed a 40-page thesis on the connection between handedness and functional activity in the cerebellum, the area of the brain in charge of coordinating balance and movement, was the pinnacle of her academic career thus far.
The study came to the conclusion that right-handed individuals have significantly different connectivity between the brain and hand than left-handed individuals.
Patricia Dennis presented her findings at the Ottawa-Carleton Institute of Biology after nearly a year of research on the subject.
Patricia Dennis’ mother, a professor of law, claims that even as a young child, she recognized her daughter as special. The 12-year-old claims that her mother’s support was necessary for her to continue with her schooling.
“I feel like part of why I’m going to the convocation and walking across the stage is for her benefit to say, ‘Thank you for being there for me,” I think that’s really the main purpose of the graduation in the first place,” Patricia Dennis said. “She’s always there for me whenever I need her to be there.”
Being a young student in college meant others often had expectations about how she would interact with others. She shared advice with other young and gifted students.
“My advice for people who are also young, gifted, smart, talented — don’t let other people’s expectations bring you down,” she shared. “That’s been a major obstacle for me everywhere I go.”
Canadian grad also wants to inpire similar kids to pursue their dreams with the power of education.
“I’m very motivated by the fact that I can be the first [to do] something. You know, being able to show other young, gifted and talented people that something like this is possible, that you can get through these roadblocks, has always been something that I’ve always wanted to do,” she added.
Now that he wants to pursue postgraduate studies, Dennis is considering a number of institutions, including McGill University, the University of Toronto, and the Illinois Institute of Technology. She wishes to continue her research.
“I’ll probably pick it back up when I have my own lab, and I can get people to also do it with me because I’ll be in charge,” she said.
