GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) – Voca Ford is 15 years old, and she just graduated from high school — a month after she graduated from college.
“Started high school when I was 11 and turned 12 shortly after,” said Voca, who is one of four valedictorians who recently graduated from Tri-County High School in Montcalm County, Michigan.
Voca blazed through school right from the get-go.
“When I was in kindergarten, I took third-grade reading,” Voca said. “When I was in sixth grade, I took algebra, which is technically a freshman course.”
She’s also a big fan of music.
“I also help teach at the middle school for middle school band classes,” Voca said.
Voca, who participates in various musical extracurricular activities, stepped in to cover for a middle school teacher who couldn’t teach in person because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s cool from my perspective,” Voca said. “Students respect me, which is great. Most of them anyway.”
Voca graduated from high school with a 3.99 GPA. It was the second time in a month that she sported a cap and gown.
“I got my associate’s (degree from Grand Rapids Community College) in general studies on April 30,” she said.
Voca is looking to head east and challenge herself at a prestigious university.
“I would love to go to New York University or Columbia or Dartmouth, you know, lots of big schools,” she said. “Lots of Ivies.”
Voca wants to become a psychiatrist. She plans on doing an externship at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York.