CHICAGO (AP) -- A 21-year-old Chicago man who began college at age 9 and medical school three years later is about to become the youngest student ever awarded an M.D. by the University of Chicago.
Sho Yano, who was reading at age 2, writing at 3 and composing music at 5, will graduate this week from the Pritzker School of Medicine, where he also received a Ph.D. in molecular genetics and cell biology.
Yano earned his undergraduate degree from Loyola University at age 12, finishing in three years and graduating summa cum laude, the Chicago Tribune reported Sunday.
The average age of students entering medical school in the U.S. is 23, and there were schools that refused Yano admittance because of his age. School officials worried that the rigors of medical school would hinder Yano's ability to have a normal adolescence.
“I never understood that,” Yano said. “Why would being allowed to challenge yourself be considered more damaging that being totally bored?”
The University of Chicago admitted Yano in 2003.
“I remember interviewing him ... this nice, polite, 11-year-old boy, dressed in a little suit,'' said Dr. Joel Scwab, a professor of pediatrics who was on the admissions committee. “He was never going to be among typical 11-year-olds ... He was going to be a doctor.”
The school made some accommodations because of Yano's age. Unlike most students, who begin their Ph.D. training after their second year of medical school, Yano began his after his first year. That way, he was about 18 when he began his second year of studies toward his M.D., which includes interacting with and examining patients.
Yano, who is an accomplished pianist and has a black belt in tae kwon do, told the paper he hopes his graduation will silence those who questioned his developmental aptitude when he entered medical school.
He is currently preparing for his residency in pediatric neurology, which he became interested in while doing a rotation at LaRabida Children's Hospital in Chicago.
“I really liked not just taking care of kids, but the way the whole team worked together,'' he said.
Genius, seemingly, runs in the Yano family.
His sister, Sayuri, is his only sibling, also a prodigy and his closest confidante. After receiving a bachelor's degree in biology from Roosevelt University in 2010, the 15-year-old is now at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, pursuing a second bachelor's degree in violin performance.
Yano has been a college student for 12 years, but it's only recently that he looks as if he belongs, blending in with students in a Hyde Park coffee shop.
The wisecracks that come with being a college pre-teen have passed, and Yano is looking forward. The University of Chicago holds its graduation Saturday.
He said, “I am living my dream.”
<관련 한글 기사>
최연소 천재 의학박사 알고보니 한국계!
9세에 대학에 입학하여 12세에 의과대학에 들어간 21세의 청년이 시카고 대학에서 의학박사 학위를 받게 되었다고 전해졌다.
일본인 아버지와 한국인 어머니를 둔 쇼 야노는 2세에 읽기를 시작, 3세에 쓰기를 시작했고 5세에 작곡을 했다. 그는 분자 유전학과 세포 생물학 박사를 이미 받은 바 있는 프리츠커 의과대학을 이번 주에 졸업하게 된다.
야노는 12세에 로욜라 대학을 최우등으로 졸업하며 학사를 받았다고 한다.
미국에서 의과 대학에 입학하는 학생들의 평균 나이는 23세이다. 야노는 어린 나이 때문에 몇몇 학교로부터 입학을 거부당하기도 했었다. 입학을 거부한 학교 당국자들은 야노씨가 의과대학의 어려운 공부가 정상적인 청소년 생활에 방해가 될까봐 우려했다고 전해졌다.
시카고 대학은 그를 2003년에 받아주었다.
야노는 천재적인 피아니스트이자 태권도 검은띠 소유자이기도 하다.
그의 누이동생 사유리(15)도 천재적 면모를 보이고 있다. 2010년 루즈벨트 대학에서 생물학 학사를 받은 후 볼티모어의 존스홉킨스 대학에서 바이올린 전공으로 두번째 학사 과정을 밟고 있다.
(코리아헤럴드)
