In 1999, Greg Smith arrived at Randolph-Macon College in Virginia for his first day of school, according to The Washington Post. But Greg wasn't just another student joining the freshman class that year — because he was 10 years old.
Greg, who was often referred to as a "boy genius," enrolled in Calculus I, Physics, French III, and Warfare in Antiquity, an honors course, in his freshman year. But being a 10-year-old in college came with quite a bit of baggage.
The media was fascinated with Greg — his mom recounted stories of Greg reading books at just 14 months old, skipping from third grade to eighth, and finishing his high school curriculum in just 22 months. Before his 11th birthday, Greg had appeared on 60 Minutes, Late Show with David Letterman, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. Media attention followed the boy genius everywhere he went — including to college.
In 2016, almost 20 years after he stepped onto the campus at Randolph-Macon, Greg appeared on Oprah: Where Are They Now? to talk about his experience as a 10-year-old college student.
No longer a "boy" genius, Greg tells Oprah in the video below that his college experience was "a bit strange," but that he made "lots of friends" despite the age gap between him and his classmates. Still, Greg admits that the media attention was "crazy" while he was in college, and that people would recognize him everywhere he went.
In and after college, Greg was extraordinary. According to the video, he has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize fives times thanks to his work for children's rights.
When this interview was filmed in 2016, Greg was working at Mount Sinai to create better medicine.
Check out the video below to hear more from Greg, and please SHARE his story on Facebook!
Photos: Oprah: Where Are They Now?
