When Yevin Goonatilake began taking classes at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, when he was just 13, he didn’t want to draw attention to his age. Like many other students during the pandemic, at first he wore a mask.
"I was still, like, a decent height, so no one, no one knew that I was younger,” he said. “I always just tried to fit in. So, no one, no one knows."
On Thursday, Goonatilake was among the nearly 5,000 students who graduated from GMU. Sitting amid his fellow graduates, he mostly blends in — but, at 15, he hasn’t started shaving yet and doesn’t have a driver’s license.
Some of his professors didn’t realize they had a young math prodigy in their midst, but it wasn’t too far into the ceremony before GMU's president gave him a shoutout.
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“One of the students today is just 15 years old,” Dr. Gregory Washington said. “He is our youngest student ever to graduate with a 4.0 GPA.”
The university has had other young graduates, at ages 13 and 17, but neither with the 4.0 GPA Yevin earned.
SATs at age 11? No problem.
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Goonatilake was only 3 when his parents, both computer scientists, noticed he picked things up very quickly, his mom recalled.
“I think around 4, we would do addition and subtraction in the driveway with chalk," she said.
The family decided homeschooling was the best way to continue his accelerated learning.
"They decided, like, I might be bored in school if, like, it's already stuff I know," Goonatilake said.
At 11, he took the SATs with the hope of starting to earn college credits at Northern Virginia Community College. He got a near-perfect math score. And so, when most kids are starting fifth grade, he began taking college courses.
By 13, he was ready to step onto Mason’s campus.
"I have a bunch of friends here. They don't know," he said. "I can, like, talk with them normally, and it's just regular."
Regular, except he has to turn down the social invitations.
"I can’t go to any parties or anything," he said. "My dad would have to drive me there."
Professor Fred Geldon was one of Yevin’s computer science instructors.
"He was perhaps the best student in my section," Geldon said.
But even he didn’t know Goonatilake age — until Thursday.
"Holy cow. I had no idea," Geldon said.
Math and computer science aren't his only passions. An avid cricket player, he's the youngest teammate on the minor league the Baltimore Royals.
With Goonatilake's undergrad degree now official, he's expecting to be back at another graduation ceremony in May, as he earns his master's degree.
So, what’s next after that?
"Ph.D. and cricket, but cricket I want to play for USA, and the Ph.D., I’m going to start applying to places, actually now," he said.
And next week, he’ll apply for his learner’s permit.
