11 years old will make history through California College

Sandra Ruiz knows nothing when a man and his 8-year-old daughter walk into the introduction of a computer science course.

After all, working parents is nothing new at Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa.

“I thought, 'This is a dad-the student and his daughter.' “I think he needs a babysitter. ”

Imagine her surprise when it turns out she is back.

Just before class began, Rafael Perales left-leaving daughter Alisa to start her second semester at university.

“This is the first time I have a student that is so young,” Ruiz said. Ruiz teaches Alisa for two semesters and serves as her programming coach. “She proved to be a very amazing student, and he brought a certain concentration and creativity that made her as much as she was.”

Alisa did not stand out because of her youth, but was an outstanding student. 2.2 in the college. In the middle of the year, she released a 3.8 GPA.

Now 11 years old, she graduated on Friday from multiple associate degrees in science and mathematics. She is the youngest graduate in the school and the youngest in California history.

Next is a university – and although she hasn't decided where she's going this fall, she's already been accepted by several UC campuses. Ultimately, Dynamo Dream of Tween using AI on aerospace giant Spacex.

“It’s a very exciting time to prepare for my future,” Alisa said.

The path to graduation began ten years ago when Perales noticed his daughter's natural academic abilities.

“I wanted to see what my kids could do with full-time attention and learning,” Peras said. “It’s not an easy option, but she deserves it.”

Perales, a civil attorney in trade, divorced alone and raised his daughter alone, resigned from emerging customs to become Alisa's coach.

The two viewed learning as a profession, studying for eight hours a day six days a week.

“From the beginning, I’ve been working hard,” Alisa said. “I feel like I’m working and studying is natural, but it’s still a lot of hard work.”

By her 2nd birthday, Alisa had mastered the letters and could count as hundreds when most children were expected to recognize basic shapes and colors and talked in word sentences shortly after a while.

She can read by herself at 2½ years old. Her father said that by 3 o'clock, she was writing precisely with her superior primary school, conquering the multiplication table and understanding the division.

“I had to buy her a bigger, thicker pencil that she could do the job in her hands,” he said.

By the age of 4, Alisa entered a long-term division by the age of 4, and basic algebra was her 5-year-old algebra.

Perales said he shunned more mature public and charter schools and felt they wouldn't offer as strict as he could. He can’t afford a private school or counselor and provides his daughter with educational formats and courses, feeling that he knows his children best.

He received education training at the so-called “YouTube University” and mixed it with do-it-yourself tutorials and educational entertainment Busy Beaver Language Skills Video Comes with old-fashioned staples such as flash cards and coloring books.

“I want something out of the box for my daughter, I just tailored her learning,” Peras said.

Alisa Perales' final GPA at Crafton Hills College will be close to 4.0. At 11, she will become the youngest graduate in college history.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Perales said the transition from income to educator has taken a huge economic blow, which has left him “scraping for many years.” Both the father and daughter live in some real estate investments, making him “pay the bills.”

But the work paid off. By the age of 8, Alisa completed all the courses the state requires to obtain a diploma.

“Obviously, she has some natural sparks that really drive her to stand out, but she's invested her time,” Perales said.

However, this is not all the hard work. Between 4 and 8 years old, Perales shrank down – reducing class time to five days a week.

To reward his daughter, Perales purchased Disneyland season passes and took Alisa to the happiest place on earth every weekend.

There, she found the joy of chicken tenders, turkey legs and Mickey Mouse cookies.

Although Alisa's science part wants to know how many actors are needed to manipulate her favorite ride – Star Wars: Rise of Resistance, the rest enjoy the fall, the dark turns and eventually succeed in getting away.

However, as graduation day distances, her path to this point has also aroused some opposition.

Crafton Hills College issued a statement on April 16 touting Alisa's achievements. But after the news was answered by the media, some online commentators delayed it backwards – telling Perales to “make a child a child” or question what the ultimate goal is.

For Perales, strangers’ criticism is as surprising as the base.

“She met a crowd of kids, made new friends, and everyone had a great time right away,” he said. “Everything that people were worried about her being embarrassed or not socializing was totally wrong.”

Alisa said she played football with friends near San Bernardino and once she finished her studies, she often found them in local parks.

She also contacted PALS via online video game platform Roblox.

No matter what the situation is, making friends can be challenging for children and their parents.

University of Michigan's CS Mott Children's Hospital released a poll last year They sampled parents of children aged 6 to 12 years old.

One in five parents surveyed said their children either have no friends or are not enough. In the same poll, 21% of parents said shyness or social awkwardness made their children’s ability to make friends.

Alisa said she would introduce to “my own kids, start chatting and ask when to play. That’s how I make new friends.”

Alisa's first year at Crafton Hills was filled with nerves and excitement.

“It's great to meet new friends from day one,” she said. “Everything is new, but after the semester, I'm getting more and more comfortable there.”

Perales bought a pair of walkie-talkies so he could communicate with his daughter during breaks and two classes.

The 8-year-old student started her college career and he sat directly outside her class. After the first year, he was in the hall, eventually waiting outside the building, in the school courtyard and outside the campus.

According to Perales, at university, Alisa studied 35 hours a week, working independently of the course. During her enrollment, she was also a contributor to the school’s programming team, and her computer science coach Ruiz helped the coach.

15 members participated International University Programming Competition Southern California Regneal November at Riverside City College.

Student competition solved a set of programming problems in a team of three in a 12-hour period. Ruiz said Alisa was easily the youngest participant there.

“She works confidently with older students, and no one is close to her age,” Ruiz said. “Just watching her problem solve under pressure, it's incredible to see how her teammates think of her.”

Not content to speed up his high school and college career, Alisa also tries to start a quick start to another activity that is usually reserved for people older than her: voting.

In April 2023, she sued California and the federal government, considering the 26th Amendment – Reduce the national referendum age from 21 to 18 years old – Constitutes age discrimination. Her father worked as a lawyer.

Alisa said she was inspired to challenge her amendment in her political science class, which was a lonely college course that she did not get a “A”.

She argued that she should be allowed to participate in democracy and that her high school education and admission at Crafton Hills College Honors College demonstrated that she was capable of voting enough.

A judge in the U.S. Central District Court was not on strike and rejected the case in January 2024.

Pamela S. Karlan, co-director of the Stanford Supreme Court litigation clinic, agreed that the voting age law discriminates against age.

However, she noted in an email that the Supreme Court repeatedly ruled that the government may do so as long as “the problematic age classification is justified in relation to legitimate national interests.”

“As long as there is a certain basis to treat people based on their age, the law will stand,” she said.

Perales said he and his daughter would not appeal the decision due to the excessive costs.

“I may not be the one who changed the law, but maybe others will challenge it and challenge it,” Alisa said.

Anyway, you can wait. She has a hat and dress to be ready.