While most kids his age are busy with playground games, school lunches, and yellow buses, 9-year-old Aiden Wilkens is taking on a far more advanced challenge. The Pennsylvania prodigy has already started college—an ironic twist for someone who lives in a town called Collegeville.
Aiden recently became the youngest student ever to enroll at Ursinus College, where he’s studying anatomy and chemistry—subjects that perfectly match his lifelong curiosity. His mother, Veronica, recalls that he began reading signs and correcting grammar almost as soon as he could talk. Unlike other toddlers who watched cartoons, Aiden was captivated by complex anatomy videos and quickly developed a fascination with the human brain.
He’s been writing algebraic equations for years and passed a high school gifted test at just six years old. By seven, he was enrolled in high school and is now a sophomore at Reach Cyber Charter School.
Three days a week, Aiden attends college lectures; the rest of his time is spent completing his high school coursework. His dream is to become a pediatric neurosurgeon, a goal that seems well within reach.
“The reason why I want to be a pediatric neurosurgeon is mainly because I like helping kids my age,” Aiden told NBC Philadelphia. “It’s sad to see kids around my age with neuro-disabilities, so I want to help them out.”
If Aiden maintains his current pace, he could even make medical history. The Guinness World Record for the youngest doctor is held by Balamurali Ambati, who graduated from New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1995 at age 17 years and 294 days. Aiden could very well break that record—but even if he doesn’t, the 9-year-old college student has already become a source of extraordinary inspiration.
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