A person’s 18th birthday is widely seen as an important one. There are many freedoms and responsibilities that come with this age; for many, this can include moving away from home and starting college. For Brandon Ngai, these freedoms and responsibilities came early when he started at the University of Illinois at just 15 years old.

As a gymnast, Ngai, current graduate student in Business, considered both his academic and athletic goals when it came time to select a college.

“I ended up going with the University of Illinois because I liked the team and the coaching staff a lot, and they have a great engineering program,” he said. 

Originally from Sacramento, California, Ngai had always been particularly skilled academically. In elementary school, he skipped 2nd and 7th grade, putting him ahead for high school.  

“I actually came into high school two years early and did dual enrollment at the local community college and was able to knock out some a bunch of credits there as well,” he said. “I came into the University with about 30 credits already done, so I had gotten ahead pretty much before high school.”

His parents knew he wasn’t an average kid, aware early on of his intelligence.  However, they were careful not to push Ngai and encouraged him to make decisions in his best interest. 

“He was bored in school, even in first grade,” said Peter Ngai, Brandon’s father. “So, we spoke to the teacher and agreed to skip him a year. As time went on, he always got his work done, got straight A’s, and everything was very easy for him and he just wasn’t being challenged.” 

In 2014, Brandon decided to study aerospace engineering at the University and joined the men’s gymnastics team.

As far as the adjustment, he wasn’t very fazed.

“It was a little different, but I’m also kind of the person that wherever I am, I adapt pretty quickly and for me; it wasn’t a crazy change,” he said. “As far as weather goes, I just think we had milder winters back in my first few years.”

Surprisingly, being a 15-year-old on a college campus wasn’t very intimidating or frightening for him at all either. In fact, it felt natural.

“I wouldn’t say it was scary, because I had already been two years ahead since high school and a little before, and I’ve been used to being with people two years older,” Brandon said. “When I was doing those community college classes my junior and senior years of high school, I was with people who were 18 to 22 years old.”

Being a member of the gymnastics team, he had a built-in support system. His teammates were there for him if he ever felt like he couldn’t adapt. 

For many parents, sending their child to college is always slightly nerve-wracking, but sending their 15-year-old child to college in a different state was even more frightening.

“It was a tough decision, at least for me,” Peter said. “But Brandon’s always been more mature socially for his age. I know he can handle himself fine, but the matter of fact is, he was still only 15 (years old).” 

Despite it being a difficult decision, his father cites the strong gymnastics program and tight-knit team for easing his worries. 

“I felt better and safer to have him go this early after I met his coach, who’s a great role model, and he was also concerned for him academically and socially but told us not to worry and that he’d watch over him,” he said. 

Since completing his undergraduate degree, Brandon has continued his educational career here at the University but used all four years of his NCAA eligibility. He also left aerospace engineering, pursuing business instead. 

“One of the reasons I decided to go for my MBA was to pivot out of the engineering industry and work more in a business setting, and it’s been really interesting,” he said. “Right now, I’ve been working part-time in an internship dealing with research with a company called Access Capital and we do catastrophe modeling and it’s been really enjoyable to be a part of the program. It’s all been really great.”

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