When the Southeastern University spring class of 2024 graduates, Joshua Ostergaard will be among more than 900 students turning their tassels following the 6:30 p.m. ceremony in Lakeland’s RP Funding Center. But he’ll be four to five years younger than most of his peers.
According to his mother, Christina Ostergaard, at 17 years old, Joshua will be one of the youngest — if not the youngest — student in SEU’s 89-year history to receive a bachelor’s degree.
Joshua, who turned 17 on Dec. 5, will graduate with honors with a bachelor’s degree in marketing. But there won’t be any book rest after that. He said he plans to immediately enter SEU’s master’s program in May to work toward a master’s in business administration in executive leadership before applying to law school to study corporate law at the University of Florida.
If his academic timetable syncs up, not long after his 21st birthday, Joshua should be a practicing attorney, specializing in corporate law.
Joshua is the son of Mark and Christina Ostergaard and has a sister, Kaitlyn, 15, who’s currently dual-enrolled at SEU and might beat her brother’s academic achievement by graduating with a bachelor’s degree in spring 2025 at 16. Outside of academics, Joshua said he likes to play video games.
“I’m very proud of him. More than scholarly, he’s just a good human being – he’s kind and generous and compassionate,” Christina said. “For his future, I think those qualities are more important than academics.”