10-Year-Old Begins College
By JUSTIN POPE
02:05 AM ET 09/07/99
ASHLAND, Va. (AP) - The weight of the textbooks almost knocked 10-year-old Greg
Smith to the floor as he packed his bag. Otherwise, the first day of college went off
without a hitch. Three years after his parents' dropped him off for the first day of
second grade, Greg arrived at Randolph-Macon College on Monday for a 17-credit honors
courseload.
``This is my dream. This is what I want to be happy,'' said Greg, who breezed
through 10 grades of school in three years and graduated third in his high school class of
650 in June.
On the surface, Greg appears to be a typical kid. He plays soccer, likes Bugs
Bunny and plays with friends his own age. But talk to him further and you learn that he
develops nonviolent conflict resolution programs. After college, he wants to cure cancer
and AIDS, colonize space and become president of the United States.
Greg has already earned attention for his scholastic achievements, appearing on
the CBS programs ``60 Minutes'' and ``The Late Show with David Letterman.''
After classes Monday, Greg climbed on a riser, peered over a podium and read to
reporters - from memory - a prepared statement thanking the college, asking the audience
to ``walk with me into a century of peace and compassion,'' and quoting Eleanor Roosevelt.
Greg's father, Bob, admitted to being a little nervous, saying he thinks he has done the
right thing and that ``given how hard he has worked, we could not say no.''
Smith, who works in publishing, and his wife, Janet, have moved and changed jobs
several times to be near Greg during his accelerated academic program.
``To my wife and I, this has never seemed like much of a sacrifice,'' Smith
said. ``After all, what could be more important than a child's education?''
Greg will live with his parents and commute to classes at the 1,100-student
liberal arts college, about 20 miles north of Richmond.
After blasting through high school, Greg plans to go through Randolph-Macon at
more or less a normal pace, finishing in about four years. He and his parents looked at
other, better known schools but chose Randolph-Macon because they liked its small class
sizes and feared he would be overwhelmed at a larger university. ``What I'm really looking
for is a small class environment where you can really get to know the professors,'' Greg
said.
After graduation, Greg said he might end up at a larger college for one of the
three doctorates he wants, in political science, biomedical engineering and aerospace
engineering.
For the time being, he might try out for the school paper. He's too young for
intercollegiate athletics, and he said he won't join a fraternity anytime soon.
Other students doubted Greg would have a hard time at the school.
``He'll be fine,'' 19-year-old Peter Weeks said. ``The girls think he's cute.''
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