Jimi "Monty" Hernandez taught himself how to read at 4 years old, completed 11th grade when he should have been in elementary school and scored 145+ on an IQ test when he was eight.
Now, Hernandez is getting ready to graduate from Skyline High School in Mesa, Arizona, and is planning to attend Arizona State University in the fall.
He just celebrated his 12th birthday this week.
“He didn’t want to go to pre-kindergarten, and he told his principal, ‘I either want to go to first grade or I want to go to college.' When it came time for regular kindergarten, he was already multiplying," his mother Danielle Hernandez told WTHR.
His mother said Hernandez would "get bored" in classes. He went to kindergarten for a week and then moved up to first grade. He was pulled to third grade when he was in second grade. He finished fourth and some of fifth grade and moved to seventh grade and then completed 10th and 11th grade in the same year.
“I'd say it's because I was able to keep up with the workflow and understand it, but some say that I’m smart,” he told WTHR.
Hernandez has been diagnosed with ADHD, autism, seizure disorder and connective tissue syndrome.
“I also have a dilated aorta, which could possibly kill me if it gets too big, but honestly, I don’t care as long as I try my best,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez is on track to study biochemistry at ASU. He wants to go to medical school and become a neurosurgeon.
"I've wanted to help other people like me who have mental problems," he said.
Getting to ASU has proven to be a challenge, Hernandez said, because of the age restrictions put on scholarship opportunities. His family started a GoFundMe to help raise money for his education.
“I just want to make every step in my life the best it can be so I can go out with a bang,” he said.