Fifteen-year-old Zaalyiah Giddens zoomed through her high school studies! Now, she’s heading to college with big aspirations.
“I was told I couldn’t, that I can only graduate in 11th grade or a semester early in 12th grade,” Zaalyiah told ABC10. “So I had the idea to graduate two years early, and I did just that.”
According to information provided to AFROTECH, Zaalyiah’s parents realized their child was ahead of the game early on — from playing with puzzles rather than toys and moving ahead of her peers by first grade.
They ultimately decided to send her to California Virtual Academy as they didn’t have the funds to support her education at a private school. The decision proved to be a smart one because Zaalyiah began knocking out various school assignments.
“She was finishing the classes in one to two days,” said Zaalyiah’s mother, Victoria Webb-Giddens, according to ABC10. “A whole semester’s worth of courses in one to two days.”
Zaalyiah completed her studies, graduating from the National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society, according to ABC10.
“She put in so much effort, late nights, early mornings. Some days, she was up before me,” explained Webb-Giddens, per ABC 10. “She was committed, and when she went to graduation, everybody was shocked because she was the only 15-year-old while everyone else was 18 and 19 years old.”
“I just didn’t want to be in high school the full four years,” said Zaalyiah, according to ABC10. “But I think the driving force really was just to set a high bar for achievements.”
Zaalyiah is remaining busy taking classes at Western Governors University. She plans to obtain a bachelor’s in business and IT management and start her own cybersecurity business in the future.
Inspired by her daughter’s achievement, Webb-Giddens has also returned to school and is working on a degree.
