She’s bringing pride to the North!
Anthaea-Grace Patricia Dennis was just 2 years old when her mom Johanna Dennis began noticing how exceptional she was, Black Enterprise reports. A single mom and law professor, Dennis said she did everything she could to make sure she nurtured her daughter’s brilliance, supporting her as she mastered the violin and letting her indulge in her love of cats and watching TV with her family.
That excellence extended to Anthaea-Grace’s studies, the scholar flying through primary school to begin a rigorous higher academia program at the University of Ottawa when she was just 9 years old. Now three years later, Anthaea-Grace has made history, becoming the youngest person in Canada to ever graduate from college, earning her bachelor’s degree in biomedical science at the age of 12.
Despite the remarkable achievement, Anthaea-Grace admits it was not without its fair share of challenges. She experienced prejudice and was discriminated against because of her demeanor and speech. Nonetheless, she’s proud she was able to push through and finish, saying she’s happy she didn’t let anything stop her from completing her goal.
“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,” she told reporters.
Anthaea-Grace focused heavily on her research while at the University of Ottawa, completing a 40-page thesis on the functional activity in the cerebellum and its relationship to handedness. It took her less than one year to finish and she presented her findings at the Ottawa-Carleton Institute of Biology Symposium. Her goal is to continue her research on the cerebellum in her postgraduate studies, hoping to one day open her own research lab.
Her historic accomplishment is not something the pre-teen takes lightly and hopes that she can be an inspiration and motivation for other young children like herself.
“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 explained.
Congratulations Anthaea-Grace! We are so proud of you!
Cover photo: 12-year-old makes history as the youngest person to graduate college in Canada/Photo Courtesy of BlackNews.com/Black Enterprise