![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/abigail-news-231206-800x450-1.webp?resize=800%2C450&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nMena, 14, will be Polk State College\u2019s youngest graduate of the 129 Commencement class and in recent memory. Commencement will take place Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, where Mena will receive her Associate in Arts degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always taken classes online,\u201d she said. \u201cMy mom heard about dual enrollment, which was an opportunity for me to take college classes. I started skipping grades because I was working at my own pace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A graduate of Florida Virtual School, Mena was just 12 years old when she first enrolled at Polk State in 2021. As the youngest of three children, the importance of academics was emphasized by her parents, Enoch and Claudia Mena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI always encouraged my kids to get through school now and have more fun later,\u201d Claudia Mena said. \u201cWhen they worked through the summer, they learned better and retained what they learned. They were always very curious and eager to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mena\u2019s oldest brother Enoc Mena Jr., 24, is currently working on his master\u2019s degree at the University of Central Florida (UCF). The middle child, David Mena, graduated with his AA from Polk State in May at just 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m very, very proud of Abigail,\u201d Claudia Mena said. \u201cShe\u2019s a great kid. For her, it wasn\u2019t just about being smart but about being disciplined. I always told her that any goal she had was doable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beginning in January, Abigail will make the commute from her home in Davenport to UCF where she plans to major in psychology. She aspires to ultimately earn a doctorate degree and run her own practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to help people,\u201d Abigail Mena said. \u201cI can relate to people and really make a difference in their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite becoming a college junior at the age of 14, Abigail said she hasn\u2019t given up her social life. She enjoys reading, writing, playing the piano, and cooking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe idea that you have to give up your childhood to achieve things academically \u2013 that\u2019s a total misconception,\u201d Abigail explained. \u201cI still have friends, I hang out with my family, I go to the beach. I\u2019ve always had just as much fun as anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abigail will graduate Suma Cum Laude from Polk State with a 3.8 grade-point average. Although her classes were exclusively online, Mena has enjoyed her Polk State experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhenever I had to go to campus, the people were always nice,\u201d she said. \u201cEverything has been smooth. It feels great to graduate from Polk State.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the youngest graduate in this year\u2019s class, Abigail is 1\/5 the age of the oldest graduate, who is 70. For those considering an accelerated path through college, Mena offered advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve worked really hard,\u201d she said. \u201cWork through the summer, stay focused, and surround yourself with the right people who are there to support you. My mom has always supported me. My father has been a pillar in our upbringing and education and works hard each day to provide everything we need, so that we can focus on our studies and take advantage of the opportunities he never had.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Before she has a driver\u2019s license or even a learner\u2019s permit for that matter, Abigail Mena will have a college degree. Mena, 14, will be Polk State College\u2019s youngest graduate… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"0","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":71799,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[32],"tags":[6987,6988,6989],"class_list":["post-39950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polk-state-college-news","tag-6987","tag-polk-states-youngest-graduate","tag-will-receive-a-degree-at-the-129th-commencement"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}