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AMMON - Brecken Allegood is 16-years-old and was technically a junior at Hillcrest High School, but was able to graduate this year.

He says hes able to graduate early because he had the resources available that have allowed him to do it.

I did my eighth grade year and the first half of my ninth grade year at White Pine STEM Academy. It is a very small school, so it was tailored to the people who are driven and want to do a bunch of things, Brecken explained. So I was able to take a bunch of high school there in eighth grade, so I got almost half a year of high school done in eighth grade.

He checked his graduation requirements and realized he could graduate early with no sweat, so he decided to pursue it.

A lot of it comes from self motivation. I push myself really hard to do the best that I can and I always give 110 to everything, Brecken said.

While at school, he has been a part of National Honor Society and has taken AP classes. His teachers say he is a math wiz for competitions. Hes competed in the U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl Competition in Washington DC. Its a nationwide academic competition that tests students knowledge in all areas of science and mathematics.

Hes played club soccer and swam on the Hillcrest High School team last year.

Brecken is originally from Fairbanks, Alaska and loves the winter season.

Winter is by far my favorite season and I am a big skier. Both cross-country and alpine, he said.

He is also musically talented and is a violinist. He has been playing for 12 years ever since he was four years old.

I played with the orchestra for all of my years here at Hillcrest. Last year, I was a soloist for the final concert and this year I am the soloist for the final concert. Schindlers List is the final piece. Its a ton of fun. I enjoy it, he said.

After high school, Brecken plans to go to college. He is on the waitlists for Johns Hopkins and Tufts University. He said if he doesnt get into either of those, hes got a nearly-full-ride scholarship to Michigan Tech.

For college, I am planning to pursue either nuclear engineering or quantum physics. Both of those fields and particle physics in general, are just very interesting to me, he said. After that, in the long term, I am trying to decide if I want to pursue the engineering track or more of the pure science track.

He had an internship at Idaho National Laboratory last summer and is doing it again this summer. He said INL would be a great place to work in the future.

I could come back there and work on small modular reactor projects or other things like that. I think I have the resources and ability to really help the planet with our energy problem and our climate crisis and I want to do that to the best of my ability, Brecken said.

See the article here:

16-year-old graduate plans for college and INL internship - East Idaho News