MEET 13-YEAR-OLD REAL-LIFE YOUNG SHELDON - SOON STARTING HIS PH.D. IN PHYSICS
From the outside, 13-year-old Elliott Tanner is just like any other kid who enjoys playing Minecraft, listening to music, and hanging out with his friends.
However, Elliott has one very special talent and gift that makes him quite unique. Elliott’s life is a bit different from the rest, as he's about to graduate from the University of Minnesota and will have obtained a bachelor's degree in physics, with a minor in math. He will also be returning back to campus in September in pursue of his doctorate in physics.
At at very early age of just 3-years, Elliott's parents started noticing his very unique ability after he was already reading and doing math at that age. Elliott was homeschooled for several years and shockingly finished high school at only 8-years-old. From there he moved to college in pursue of a degree.
But even though he is much more advanced than some of the average people, and finishing his first degree at the age of 14, that doesn’t stop him or his mother from making sure he still enjoys his childhood. Elliot's mother Michelle explained that, “People who hear Elliott’s story say he doesn’t get to be a kid, or he grew up too fast. He still very much is a kid and the only difference is he goes to school in a different building.”
Elliot is set to focus his Ph.D., Elliott in the studies on high-energy theoretical physics. However, there is still a few stumble blocks his family has to overcome - how to pay for the program. As he didn't receive a tuition waiver or financial aid package, his family have turned to GoFundMe to try and raise the finances for his schooling.
Thus far, they've managed to raise enough to cover his first year at the University of Minnesota. Their new goal at hand is to raise enough for the second year. They hope that along the way, he may receive a teaching or research assistant position to offset the cost.
Elliott, who has formed a friendship with Young Sheldon star Iain Armitage, hopes that his unique story will inspire and encourage other people to get excited about physics. He said, “I would love to be able to spread some of this joy for physics and this enthusiasm for it around.”