KENT, Ohio — While most 18-year-olds are finishing up high school, Benjamin Mudrak just earned his bachelor’s degree.
“I’m pretty proud of myself,” Mudrak, 18, admitted. “I mean, it feels cool. It’s been four years leading up to it.”
He majored in mathematics at Kent State University. He started taking classes at the university when he was in 8th grade and was a full-time college student by his freshman year of high school.
“I can’t really explain it. I just really really love math,” he said. “I’ve kind of always loved math.”
He was able to earn his degree through the College Credit Plus program at the university.
“Occasionally, I would have to take an extra gen-ed to fulfill my high school requirements, but I didn’t have to take specific high school courses outside of that,” Mudrak explained. “I never ended up taking a class at my high school which is kind of cool.”
Before the pandemic, most of Mudrak’s classes were in person at Kent State, and even though he was still just a teenager, he said he blended in well.
“I’m kind of tall, so I think some people tended to think I was older than I actually was,” Mudrak laughed. “I saw no reason to dissuade them of that.”
The 18-year-old graduate credits his professors for a lot of his success.
“I feel like most of my successes come down to the professors here at Kent State, especially in the math department,” he said. “They have just been wonderful to me.”
Next, Mudrak is headed to Indiana for graduate school.
“I’ll be staring my Ph.D. program at Purdue University in August,” Mudrak said. “I’m really excited for that. It will be a challenge, but I’m excited.”
