13-year-old prodigy getting ready to start classes at Alabama community college

TANNER, Ala. (WHNT) — A lot of 13-year-old boys spend their time playing video games or sports and tackling the challenges of middle school. That is not the case for Van-Houston McMillion.

At just 13 years old, he is getting ready to start classes at Calhoun Community College.

On Tuesday afternoon, he toured the campus and met with school leaders. In the fall, he will start his studies toward an associate of science degree in general education with a focus on chemistry.

It’s a topic he’s studied since he was a young child.

“I definitely think it’s a blessing from God that I have this understanding,” McMillion said. “But I think that every kid everywhere has a gift and a calling that they’re better than anybody else in the world.”

McMillion is homeschooled and said he owes a lot of his success to how he was taught.

“The attitude around schooling in our house was so much different than the classic public school,” he said.

The teen prodigy said he also used a lot of online resources for learning, like Khan Academy. Nothing beats, however, a “good old-fashioned textbook,” McMillion said with a laugh.

As he prepares to take the next step in his learning journey, he has some big dreams in mind.

“I feel like it’s every scientist’s dream to cure cancer, and I think that pharmaceuticals would be a great way to do that,” he said.

McMillion is Calhoun Community College’s youngest student to ever enroll. Calhoun said he enrolled when he was 12.