Teen prodigy graduates from university at 14 years old

PEORIA, Ariz. (KPHO/Gray News) — As thousands of students are set to graduate this spring from Arizona State University, one of those graduates is impressing people as she is not even old enough to drive a car yet.

At 14 years old, Abigail Zagala will be among the youngest people to ever graduate from ASU.

“I love learning about the world and how people are connected to each other,” she said.

Abigail’s parents, Sarah and Richard Zagala, said their daughter always hit milestones early.

They said she learned to read at just 2 years old, took college-level courses for fun at 8, and graduated from high school at 11 years old.

“We always raised her with the mindset that it’s limitless, we don’t know what she can do, but we don’t want to put limits on what she can do,” Sarah Zagala said.

Abigail will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in social and behavioral sciences.

She said she’ll be leaving ASU’s West Valley campus with a 4.33 GPA.

“I went to college at 14 because that was a ion of mine, that is what I wanted to do, and I really loved it,” Abigail said.

Like many other teens her age, Abigail likes to paint her nails, play video games and hang out with friends from her neighborhood and those she has made on campus.

“A lot of people actually assume that I’ve sacrificed my childhood, but I have not,” she said.

Abigail is set to walk in Monday’s commencement ceremony and will also be honored with a Dean’s Medalist Award.

“I don’t know if there are any words that can express how proud we are of her,” said Richard.

Abigail said she plans to attend law school and become a human rights lawyer.

She is still undecided which school she will attend as she is waiting to hear back from some she applied to. However, she has already been accepted to multiple law schools nationwide.

Her parents said they plan to move to whichever city she decides to study in to help her.

“We just want to her in doing what she wants to do,” Sarah said.

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