At just 9 years old, Aiden Wilkins is sure of what he wants to do when he grows up. The gifted boy from Collegeville, Pennsylvania, said he wants to be a Pediatric Neurosurgeon, and he is already working towards that.
Wilkins is currently a high school sophomore and taking a neuroscience class at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.
Three times a week, he takes courses at the college, while the other days are for virtual classes at Reach Cyber Charter School, NBC10 reported.
His mother realized he was gifted when, at 2 years old, he could read outdoor signs before he was even taught how to.
“I could just read them when most kids at my age, at like two, could barely even speak,” Wilkins said to ABC 7. “Yeah, I just grasped it so fast.”
Three years ago, he passed the gifted test that his high school administered. Now, Wilkins is studying next to 18-to-20-year-olds in a neuroscience classroom at Ursinus. Wilkins is the youngest student in the school’s history.
“It’s exciting because he’s making history and you know he feels great. I think it’s so important to be seen and heard,” his mother, Veronica Wilkins, said to NBC10.
“He plans to go to medical school and eventually become a pediatric neurosurgeon,” she noted.
“The reason why I want to be a pediatric neurosurgeon is mainly because I like helping kids around my age,” Wilkins explained. “It’s sad to see kids around my age with neuro-disabilities so I want to help them out.”
Wilkins is still like most kids at his age, as he loves to play soccer and video games despite his academic prowess.
His mother said raising a gifted child is a unique experience.
“You don’t really hear often about gifted kids. It’s a small percentage, but I am very grateful and thankful for the opportunity to be part of his journey,” she said. “It’s all about him and his journey and me just supporting his journey.”
Wilkins is now thinking about where to study before medical school, but Johns Hopkins and Princeton are at the top of his list for now.
He said he wants others who do not see themselves as gifted to know that anything is possible.
“You can do anything,” he said. “You really just have to put the work into it.”
