Contact: Bill Wagnon
Like other graduating seniors, Hench Qian has been shopping for colleges. Unlike most others, the 16-year-old Mississippi State student has been in the market for a graduate school.
In 1995, 13-year-old Qian (pronounced "Chen") entered the Starkville university as the youngest known person ever to enroll. On Saturday [May 9], he receives bachelor's degrees in both computer science and mathematics.
After scoring a composite 33 out of a possible 36 on the American College Test, the Shanghai, China, native skipped the final two years at Starkville High School to enter MSU's early admission program.
"Everything was set up right, which helped me a great deal," said Qian, an only child whose parents lived in the married student housing complex on campus. "My parents being so close also really helped."
Qian's father was an engineering graduate student when his son became MSU's youngest student. The elder Qian since has graduated and taken a job with a Memphis, Tenn., computer firm. He returned to campus on weekends where his wife remained while their son completed his dual degrees.
Hench Qian said he is choosing the University of Maryland to continue his studies after considering graduate programs at Texas, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and Illinois.
"I'm still too young to work, so that's not in the picture yet," he said, explaining that his graduate school choice was based both on academics and independent living arrangements.
"I'm not quite ready for the 'real world' yet," he added. "Starting a career is still a few years down the line for me."
Qian plans to pursue a master's and, perhaps, a doctorate in computer science. The interest in computers, particularly computer graphics and virtual reality, developed early from visits he made with his father to MSU's various computer labs.
"I guess you could say I've been interested in computers since I was little, real little," he said with a laugh.
As he graduates from Mississippi State, many of his Starkville friends are preparing to receive their high school diplomas. Though their academic pursuits took different paths, Qian said he and his high school friends remained close.
"When I went home in the afternoons, I would still have my friends from high school," he said. "We would hang around together and we stayed friends during all this."
Qian said being in a college environment has helped him grow up faster.
"In college, you learn to manage yourself," he observed. "Everything is under your own control. It helped me to stay focused on what I was doing."