Last May, Alisa received two associate degrees in Mathematics and General Science from Crafton Hills College (California, USA), where she began studying when she was 8 years old. This fall, Alisa will enter the University of California, Riverside to study Computer Science, with the hope of working in the technology field.

Giving up law career to raise children

When Alisa was just 1 year old, single father Rafael decided to quit his job as a litigator in California to take care of and educate his daughter wholeheartedly. He has an unchangeable principle: “Children come first. My daughter is more important than anything, including myself.”

“When I first started, people were surprised and said, ‘Are you going to quit your job as a lawyer to stay home and teach a one-year-old?’ They thought it was a big mistake,” he recalls.

But he insists he believed it was the right decision from the start. "Looking back 10 years later, I have absolutely no regrets. It has been a joy, a privilege and an honor to raise my children."

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For father Rafael Perales, his daughter is above all and he devotes all his attention and care to her.

Despite losing his steady income, the father believes he made the right choice, according to CNBC . The family lives off the rental income from a commercial building he bought with a small inheritance from his parents. “There are times when I worry about money, but I have never doubted that prioritizing my children’s education was the right thing to do,” Rafael said.

He said that Alisa was naturally intelligent and very quick-witted. Everyone around her realized that she was blessed with something special.

However, he said: “It is clear that she was not born knowing calculus or trigonometry. To go from a child to a university graduate at half the age of her classmates is a process of persistent and relentless effort.”

Discipline and joy of childhood

From the very beginning, Alisa learned the alphabet and sang nursery rhymes. By the age of 2.5, she was able to read multi-chapter stories.

“It was just a step-by-step process. There was no magic bullet. It was all step by step,” the father said.

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At age 11, Alisa graduated from two community colleges and is preparing for college.

At their home in San Bernardino, California, the father and son maintain a study schedule from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., six days a week.

“We don’t have summer vacations, nor do we have winter vacations,” Rafael said. Instead, in the summer, he takes his children on field trips to the Grand Canyon National Park, Mount Rushmore (where the faces of four U.S. presidents are carved) or the ancient Yellowstone National Park. However, the family still takes time off for major holidays like the Fourth of July, Christmas and birthdays.

When Alisa was 4, the two decided to skip school every Wednesday to go to Disneyland. “She was doing really well, so I wanted to reward her and keep her excited every week, looking forward to the new and exciting things that were coming,” Rafael said. That was his strategy: Make learning super fun.

At age 5, Alisa started learning algebra, then moved on to geometry. By age 8, she had completed the entire general education program and received a high school diploma according to California (USA) regulations.

Then what I wanted to learn was beyond my father's ability.

“It's not that I don't want to teach, but I don't know how to do calculus, nor do I really know much about trigonometry,” Rafael admitted.

While most children her age are starting third grade, Alisa enrolled in a community college as a special student, in the spring of 2023.

“It was her first time in a public classroom. I thought she might be shy. On the contrary, Alisa was very excited to learn with other people and experience the feeling of having a teacher in the classroom instead of just her father,” Rafael said.

He continued: “For her, the class is just like on TV or in the movies. She has no difficulty and has never complained about feeling uncomfortable or being treated badly by anyone.”

During Alisa's classes, Rafael always waited on campus.

“There were a lot of students in the class. I was used to just me and my dad studying together. Now the class is much larger, and of course, my classmates are much older than me,” Alisa shared.

Although she loves Math, Physics and Music, she says: “What I like most is learning new things.”

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Despite her busy schedule, Alisa still has time to play with friends and travel and explore.

Looking to the future

At 11, Alisa’s plans are similar to those of most new college students: eager to meet friends, eager to travel the world, and dreaming of starting a tech career. But she will still live with her father, traveling back and forth between home and college. Rafael plans to sit tight while she attends classes and has no plans to return to work full time.

“People ask me when I will go back to work. I say: Maybe someday, but definitely not now,” he shared.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nu-sinh-11-tuoi-vao-dai-hoc-ong-bo-tiet-lo-bi-quyet-it-ai-theo-duoc-2436683.html