By the time Adam Brown turned 8 years old, he had already enrolled in a college-level class.

The third-grade coursework his peers studied at the time was already years behind Brown, and he was thirsting for a more rigorous course load. So during his free time, Brown decided to enroll in classes at Los Angeles Mission College after elementary school and during summers.

Brown took another leap 10 years later – and graduated from GW with a master’s degree on the National Mall.

The 18-year-old, who earned a master’s in political management, is one of the youngest students to graduate from the University this academic year. Brown said that despite taking high-level classes before most of the peers his age, he enjoyed the academic challenge and wants to return to school again for a law degree.

“I wanted to get the extra challenge, but I liked what I was doing,” Brown said. “I loved hanging out with people my own age, so my parents suggested looking into other options.”

At 8 years old, Brown said he began taking classes at Mission College and continued to enroll in courses there for the following five years. He later transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in history at the age of 16.

Although his high school experience was different than most, Brown participated in baseball, marching band, jazz band, Model United Nations and mock trials while working on his degree at UCLA.

“It is definitely a different high school experience, but I was still able to go to prom and attend football games on Friday nights,” Brown said.

In his time at GW, Brown was a member of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and GW’s United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund organization. He became friends with those involved in the same student organizations and peers he took classes with.

As a relatively young student in the political management master’s program, Brown said the University was “incredibly supportive” and he felt “completely welcome” as a relatively young student pursuing a master’s degree.

“I’ll miss exploring D.C. with my friends and going on midnight monument walks,” Brown said. “I love GW, and I’m very proud to be at GW. Looking back on my two years, I definitely chose the right school.”

Brown said he hopes to return to GW for law school, where he can continue his passion for education advocacy. He said he wants to use his degree to improve access to education for others who are not as fortunate.

His sister, who has cerebral palsy, motivated him to study accessible education and youth development, which he hopes to use to motivate others in a career post-gradation.

“After seeing what she has had to go through in her fight for a quality education, I knew that I needed to advocate for her and other students,” Brown said. “I believe that every student has a right to a quality education. I plan to continue working toward more accessible as well as innovative quality education and youth development as a career after law school.”