Most of us eagerly look forward to the day we walk across the stage at graduation, finally equipped to face the promising journey ahead. What most of us have in common is the maturity of a 20-something who just completed over a decade of school.

This spring, however, one NC State student will beat the odds as one of the youngest female graduates you’ll find at the University. Samantha Kiser, a fourth-year studying English, just turned 17 years old.

Kiser’s story began when she graduated from her Georgia high school at the age of 12 and began college at 14. Following four years of hard work, she describes her high school graduation as surreal.

“I think in a lot of ways, I didn’t really understand what I was getting into,” Kiser said. “I worked very hard up until that point to graduate at that time, but I didn’t connect a lot because I was 12. And my parents worked very hard to get me to that point.”

While her parents encouraged her to pursue a collegiate liberal arts degree at a young age, it was hard for Kiser to ignore a sense of discomfort among her much older fellow high school graduates. She felt a sharp divide between herself and her classmates, especially as she started college.

Beginning college at NC State in 2018, Kiser said although the work wasn’t overwhelming, her real challenge turned out to be building meaningful relationships with her peers.

“For the most part, I never had trouble with coursework — it was just mainly other people,” Kiser said. “And because I was so young, people just weren’t interested in interacting with me. They mainly found my experience odd, and sometimes took it as a challenge.”

Kiser said her confidence was shaken when her aspirations were often treated as a joke by friends and family alike. It wasn’t until last semester that her extended family and friends began to take her seriously.

“The biggest challenge, unfortunately, is that everyone, including my extended family, treated my aspiration like it was a joke,” Kiser said. “They didn’t think it was possible. And when I was younger, that really shook my confidence.”

Academically, Kiser enjoyed the fiction writing classes as they allowed her to explore her passion for writing, interpersonal relations and communication.

“I chose this degree because in every walk of life, for every creed or ideology, being able to communicate makes all of the difference,” Kiser said.

As an avid writer and theater enthusiast, Kiser cited Martin Luther King Jr. and Albert Einstein as admirable examples of individuals who were able to passionately communicate with those around them, voicing powerful messages. Kiser truly believes her degree “carries meaning and value,” as she continues to narrate her story through moving poetry and multi-genre short stories.

Affording college was not always easy for Kiser. Coming from a single-parent income, she sought scholarships to alleviate the financial burden, even during the stressful time in which her family moved homes. Kiser recalls spending a month living in a hotel room, completing her coursework and living off ramen noodles.

“Paying for all of this has been a real burden,” Kiser said. “So I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved because of these hardships.”

Kiser said she has three long-term goals following graduation. First, she intends to continue to write and publish her work through a variety of mediums and platforms. Kiser also plans to start her own theater company to “teach young people an appreciation for communicating and interacting with an audience.” And Kiser is aiming to attend law school, too.

At 17, Kiser will be the youngest graduate most will hear of at NC State but listening to her passionate plans and mature outlook on her life ahead, one can’t help but wonder if age is merely a chronological detail for certain people. Too young? Think again. 

“They just assumed that I would fail,” Kiser said. “But the experience gave me strength, because I can now say that I have achieved something great.”

Kiser has published a variety of short stories, essays, poetry and research articles which are featured on her website.