WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | 12-Year-Old Goes to College, Follows Siblings

12-Year-Old Goes to College, Follows Siblings

From our sister station WSFA in Montgomery, Alabama:

Most of us graduate high school when we're about 18, then we start college. But in one family, the young students are succeeding beyond their years.

At 4'6" and 73 pounds, Heath Harding is smaller than his classmates.

"Every time they see me, they call me big man," said Heath.

But academically he's on their level. The 11-year-old should be in sixth grade, but he's a freshman, not in high school, but in college.

Overachieving academically runs in the family. His 16-year-old sister Serennah is a senior at Huntingdon College.

"It's very exciting," she said. "I really look forward to the future and how many more things I can accomplish."

Their professors say it's not just their size that stands out in the classroom.

"It shows what parents can do," says Heath's professor Cenzia Balit Mossalli.

Serennah and Heath's two older sisters also started college by 12, but their mother insists they're just an average family.

Mona Lisa Harding home schools all eight of her children.

"We really believe they can be anything they want to be," she says.

But are they growing up too fast and missing out on certain life experiences? Mona Lisa says she tries to find the right balance between school and social activities. "We are involved in the church. They take part in sports."

Heath says to him, learning is fun. At 11 he's on track to have a college degree before most kids have a high school diploma.

"I have been blessed with a good family that encouraged me to move on," he said.

As for the future, Heath says he might like to make movies when he grows up.

The Hardings have another daughter, who's 19 and finishing up her masters degree.

They also have a ninth child on the way.

Reported by: Sally Pitts, spitts@wsfa.com