Cannan Huey-You, 11, left, and Carson Huey-You, 14. (Courtesy of Claretta Kimp)
Carson Huey-You, 14; Claretta Kimp; Cannan Huey-You, 11. (Courtesy of Claretta Kimp)
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By Katie Mettler
May 12, 2017
Claretta Kimp wants you to understand this:
Yes, she gave
birth to two child prodigies, and yes, they’re graduating from high
school and college this weekend at ages 11 and 14, respectively. Carson,
her oldest, is leaving Texas Christian University with a degree in
physics and minors in Chinese and math. Cannan, the kid brother, will
head to TCU next fall to study astrophysics and engineering. The first
wants to get a PhD, the other wants to be an astronaut.
All that, Kimp concedes, is impressive.
But as a mom, her sons’ academic achievements rank low among her favorite facts.
“Yes, they’re smart,” Kimp told The Washington Post, “but that’s just a small part of who they are.”
The
brothers, she said, are also best friends, study partners and big fans
of their puppy, Klaus. They wrestle and laugh and hold the door open for
women, just like their mother taught them. At home, Carson and Cannan
do not fight, not even during their epic Star Wars lightsaber battles
that make Kimp cringe. And don’t worry, Kimp tells the peanut gallery,
their social lives are perfectly adequate. Their childhoods
haven’t suffered.
“My boys have more social skills than most
adults,” she said. “They are just normal little boys who do normal
little boy things.”
It was their brilliance, though, that first landed them in the spotlight.
Four
years ago, at age 10, Carson was admitted to TCU in Fort Worth and he
began classes as an 11-year-old. On Saturday, he’ll become the youngest
graduate in the university’s history.
Kimp, who studied early education and business at Southern Illinois
University, said she converted the spare bedroom in their home into a
classroom before Carson was even walking. At first, he played with
blocks there. Then she started sitting him in a chair for class.
He
was so excited to learn, Kimp said, that they created a set school day
from 9 a.m. to noon. But Carson would blow through the curriculum she
planned in an hour. By age 2, he was reading books with chapters, and at
age 3 he told his mom he wanted to learn calculus.
“I’m a normal functioning human being and I’m totally for real,” she recalls saying on the phone. “Here’s my situation.”
The principal eventually accepted Carson, and five years later he graduated as co-valedictorian.
Then the search for a school willing to accept a child started all over again.
Kimp
said they visited numerous college campuses and listened to lectures
about the Ivy League. But when it came time to decide, TCU bubbled to
the top.
Ultimately, the decision was Carson’s. He told his mom that TCU “felt right.”
“TCU is our Ivy League,” Kimp said.
Physics
professor Magnus Rittby, a senior associate dean, became Carson’s
mentor and, eventually, his research adviser. Rittby knew how to ease
Carson’s anxieties, push him academically and, most importantly to Kimp,
treat her son like the kid he is.
“This experience at TCU would not have been possible without Dr. Rittby,” she said.
Carson faced challenges most college kids don’t. Federal financial
aid forms, for example, didn’t include his age in the drop-down menu,
and his mom had to drive him an hour and a half to school every day in
rush hour traffic. Kimp walked him to and from class. And he had a 9
p.m. bedtime — 11 p.m. if he had to cram for a big exam.
Kimp
eventually moved the family closer to campus, so their commute shortened
to eight minutes. And the juggling act got even easier once Cannan
started tagging along to TCU.
Because Kimp never wanted to make
her sons feel in intellectual competition with each other, the divorced
mom tried to avoid forcing Cannan down the same path as Carson. She
wanted him to find his own way.
Cannan began on the traditional
route, attending kindergarten with kids his own age. But my second
grade, he was bored, and asked to be home-schooled like Carson, reported
the Dallas Morning News. Kimp thinks her eldest son’s thirst for
learning rubbed off on Cannan.
Even after she would complete lessons with Cannan, Carson would swoop
in to help with homework, demonstrating on the whiteboard in their home
how to breeze through complex math equations.
“They know that they are blessed to have a sibling and to have each other,” Kimp told The Post.
With both sons, she said she enjoyed “seeing the lightbulb moments.”
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