Massachusetts teenager on pace to receive bachelor's degree before his high school diploma

Many people say that teenagers lack the work ethic they once possessed, but one Norton, Massachusetts teenager is proving that that some young people take school — and everything else they do —  very seriously.

Chris Strynar is a gifted student who always amazed his parents with his intellectual ability from the time he was a toddler. His parents placed him in a school for gifted children, but Chris insisted that the work was still not hard enough. So his parents consulted with the Norton Public School system, who took the unusual step of allowing him to enroll in college classes, even though he's still in junior high. And Strynar isn't just taking classes from his local community college; he's taking math classes from Harvard University and Wheaton College.

According to WBZ in Boston, Chris is on pace to graduate with a bachelor's degree from Harvard before he receives his high school diploma, but he still tries to make time with his friends.

They put him in a school for gifted students for a few years, but felt it wasn’t a good program for him. Norton Public Schools was willing to accommodate his college schedule and provide something else: time with his friends.

“It takes time to be a kid, you can only be a kid once,” Chris’s dad said. “You still have to do kid things.”

He takes regular middle school classes and he hangs out with friends playing video games and says he gets teased. “A lot of them tease like, ‘it’s not fair you get dismissed twice a week, it’s not fair!’ and I say ‘I’m going to two more hours of school,’” Chris said.

His dad says, “He’s just a laid back normal kid that just fortunately has a good head on his shoulders, a good IQ, but more importantly he has got drive.”

Chris isn't just all about books and friends, either — he also plays football and basketball. Chris didn't reveal what his future career plans are, but someone with this level of talent — and more importantly, drive — is someone to look out for in the future.