A Chicago teenager went to college at age 10. At 17, she earned a doctorate from Arizona State – NBC Chicago

Dorothy Jean Tillman II’s appearance at Arizona State University’s May 6 commencement ceremony was the final step in a journey to higher education that the Chicago teen began when she took her first class university at the age of 10.

In between came associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees.

When Tillman successfully defended her dissertation in December, she became the youngest person — at 17 — to earn a doctorate in integrated behavioral health at Arizona State, associate professor Leslie Manson told “ ABC’s Good Morning America.

“It’s a wonderful celebration and we hope … that Dorothy Jean will inspire more students,” Manson said. “But it’s still something so rare and unique.”

Tillman, called “Dorothy Jeanius” to her family and friends, is the granddaughter of former Chicago Alderwoman Dorothy Tillman.

While most students are just learning to navigate college, her mother enrolled Tillman in classes at the College of Lake County in northern Illinois, where she majored in psychology and earned her degree in ‘associate in 2016, according to his biography.

Tillman earned a bachelor’s degree in humanities from Excelsior College in New York in 2018. About two years later, she earned her master’s in science from Unity College in Maine before being accepted in 2021 into the program of Behavioral Health Management from the State of Arizona.

Most of her classwork was done remotely and online. Tillman attended her Arizona State graduation in person and addressed the graduating class during the ceremony.

Tillman told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she credits her grandmother and trusts her mother’s advice for her studies and achievements.

“Everything we were doing didn’t seem abnormal or out of the ordinary until it started getting all the attention,” said Tillman, now 18.

There were sacrifices, however.

“I didn’t have the everyday things at school like proms or spirit weeks or just school pictures and things like that…that sort of created unity with my peers ” she said.

She found time to dance and choreograph. Tillman is also founder and executive director of the Dorothyjeanius STEAM Leadership Institute. The program includes summer camps designed to help youth in arts and STEM fields.

She said her plans include public speaking engagements and fundraising for the camp, which Tillman said she hopes to one day franchise.

Tillman is driven and has innovative ideas, Manson said, adding, “And really, I think what’s inspiring is that she embodies that sense of being a true leader.”

Jimalita Tillman said she was most impressed by her daughter’s ability to gracefully show off herself and her successes, but also understand when to “put her foot down” when choosing between social outings and her education. .