Gordon College grad makes history at 18
'It didn't affect me too much to be younger than everybody else,' Gillard told Boston 25 News in an interview from her parent's home in Minnesota. 'I could keep up in classes. I made friends normally and easily. I think it was all quite straight forward.'
Gillard said she chose Gordon because of the school's linguistics program and Christian education, both of which were important to her. She graduated May 17th with a bachelor's degree in linguistics.
Gillard was homeschooled as a child, and in her early teens began taking online college courses to supplement her primary education. At 16, she simultaneously graduated high school with an associate's degree earned online from University of the Northwestern.
She then transferred into Gordon College as a junior. It was her first time in a traditional classroom setting, but there were no surprises, she said.
'To be frank, it was pretty much what I expected,' Gillard said. 'The whole college experience, the whole school experience, wasn't too surprising. I think I pictured what it was like pretty well.'
She admits her classmates were surprised when they first learned her age, but they also welcomed her.
'The greatest struggles were probably having to mail things to my parents to sign for me because I was still a minor,' Gillard said.
As for what's next, Gillard is weighing her options. She said she might like to pursue a career in Bible translation, editing, or dialect coaching, but she hasn't ruled out the possibility of grad school.
'I have no concrete plans for the future,' Gillard said. 'I'm going to take at least a year or so to figure things out… and being so young, I have so much flexibility and time to explore those options.'
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