Postgraduate at 16: The Inspiring Story of an Adopted Girl
Most 16-year-olds in Bulgaria have just finished 10th grade. Compared to this background, the story of Hannah Taylor Schlitz sounds impressive - at this age, the teenager already has a postgraduate degree in sociology. However, she does not stop there – at the moment Hannah is continuing her education at an American university to obtain a master and doctoral degree, reports Voice of America.
The girl also sets a record for the youngest student to graduate from Texas Woman's University. Hannah snatched the title from its previous holder - her sister, who graduated from the same university, but when she was 16 years and 9 months old. While the current prize winner graduated nearly half a year younger.
If this is not an ideal example of how with the years and the change of generations, more and more young people and Gen Z rely on and care about good education. Unlike the Silicon Valley billionaires whose generation succeeded without even a college degree.
Hannah's story becomes even more inspiring when we turn to the girl's past. She was born in southern Ethiopia and lost her mother to tuberculosis when she was only a few months old. The little girl was adopted by an American couple - Maisha Taylor and William Schlitz. Now, fifteen years later, Hannah dreams of working on projects to cure tuberculosis, the disease that claimed her mother's life.
A 16-year-old teenager who now lives in Texas with her family never went to school. She was home-educated in line with a specially designed program by her adoptive parents and they taught all their children based on that programme.
Today, Hannah's father, William Schlitz, remembers the day he and his family were granted Hannah’s custody from an adoption center in Ethiopia. Seeing now that his daughter has achieved such success brings back many memories. "It's very emotional to think about where she's come from and then to see her get her diploma fifteen and a half years later. She's an amazing young lady with such a beautiful soul. And she's determined to change the world," says the father of the youngest American student.