14-Year-Old Chicago Girl Earns Her Master's Degree

It's a tough time to be a parent right now.

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Like bringing up children wasn't already challenging enough, the global pandemic has brought us into full lockdown.

This means that most major stores have closed their doors...

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And millions of bars and restaurants have been closed for months now, resulting in a huge drop in the economy.

And, on top of all this, schools have also been closed.

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All over the world, children have been sent home from school to self-isolate in the safety of their own homes.

And here in America, several State leaders have also enforced closures upon their schools.

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Our famous yellow school buses have been ground to a halt indefinitely as our fight against the pandemic continues.

Quite understandably, many parents are struggling with these new sanctions.

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As any parent will know, keeping children cooped up indoors for an extended period of time is a recipe for disaster. And these parents have found themselves doing the very thing they hoped they'd never have to do... Homeschooling.

With their children's schools closed down indefinitely...

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Parents have been left with little choice but to educate their children themselves.

And it turns out that homeschooling isn't the easiest of tasks...

And many parents have been coming forward to admit that they don't make the best teachers.

Things are even harder for parents of teenagers.

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Hundreds of thousands of teenagers who were ready to graduate this year have been left studying at home... and let's face it, their workload won't exactly be easy.

But Dorothy Jean Tillman is one teen who makes it look easy.

At just fourteen she's already earned a masters degree.

In many ways, DJ is a typical fourteen-year-old...

She loves dancing, scrolling through TikTok, and hanging out with her pals.

But her latest achievement certainly sets her apart from her friends.

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At just fourteen she has graduated from Unity College with a master's degree in environmental science and sustainable engineering.

Her incredible journey began at just 8-years-old...

Her academic journey began in schools for gifted and talented children after coming to feel that the distractions of a regular school environment were hindering her learning.

DJ started dual enrolment for high school courses at eight-years-old...

Going to regular classes during the day, then taking online high school modules after school at home.

After completing high school...

She went on to earn her associate’s degree in psychology from the College of Lake County at the age of 10.

And just 2 years later...

She received her bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Excelsior College.

And when she achieved her biggest feat yet with her master's degree...

Her family were over the moon.   “We did a little family celebration," she told PEOPLE. “It was something small and simple because we still have to respect the rules of quarantine."

Her mom is extremely proud.

“I’m very proud of her and I’m proud of the example that she’s leaving behind," she said.

DJ says it was her grandmother who first sparked her interest in STEM subjects...

DJ says that her grandma would buy her various magazines and books on the topic, which led to her joining engineering and coding programs as a child.

The teen is already giving back.

Last year, DJ accompanied her mom on a business trip to Cape Town, South Africa, where she met a group of local girls who shared her passion for STEM - but sadly, they lacked the resources to pursue their passion.

After noticing the problem, she began to fundraise.

She developed a plan to bring STEM labs to the area, fundraising for resources such as computers and microscopes.

So, what does the future hold for DJ?

Well, at the moment she's uncertain, but she's sure it'll involve STEM in some way. "I know in the future I want to be an entrepreneur. I want to be my own boss," she says. “I kind of want to be able to take everything that I’ve learned, all of my degrees, and group them into one thing. Because the way I am, I can’t stay on one project. I have to hop around to different things to make sure I stay passionate in everything equally."

Meanwhile, she’s also working on a book...

She describes the book, titled Unlock the Jeanius Within as a “wellness, goal-oriented" compilation featuring excerpts from various people. What an incredible story. You go girl! If you want to read more uplifting stories, then keep scrolling…