17-YEAR-OLD TEEN BECOMES THE YOUNGEST DOCTORATE GRADUATE IN ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
A young person from the Chicago area recently made history by becoming the youngest person to ever earn a doctorate from Arizona State University. At the age of seventeen, Dorothy Jean Tillman II recently received her doctorate, making her the youngest student in the history of the university to do so. Tillman has a long history of outstanding academic accomplishments. Those close to her also call her "Dorothy Jeanius."
For the first few years of her life, she was homeschooled, and at the age of ten, she started college. It made news when she graduated with a bachelor's degree in humanities from Excelsior College in New York in 2018. Tillman wasn't finished, though. In 2020, she graduated with a Master of Science from Unity College in Maine.
She was then admitted to Arizona State University's Doctorate of Behavioural Health Management program at the age of 15. She completed her dissertation defence in November 2023 with success, and six months later she received her doctorate. Even with her demanding academic schedule, Tillman managed to make time for her other interests. She created the Dorothyjeanius STEAM Leadership Institute, which aims to assist young people in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) subjects, in addition to pursuing dance and choreography. With the institute's locations in West Capetown, South Africa, and Chicago, kids everywhere can benefit from these resources.
Tillman comes from a long line of successful and accomplished people. Tillman was named for her grandmother, who played a significant role in the civil rights movement and taught her early on the value of education. Tillman is carrying on her family's legacy and demonstrating what can be achieved with perseverance and hard work by achieving such an amazing feat.