While most 17-year-olds were still in high school, Chicago’s Dorothy Tillman was earning her doctorate degree and paving the way for other kids to reach their dreams.
Dorothy recently completed her final dissertation to receive her Ph.D. in Integrated Behavioral Health from Arizona State University.
“I am now Dr. Dorothy Jean Tillman, DBH, since successfully defending my dissertation last week,” Tillman wrote in a recent Instagram post.
At just 10 years old, Dorothy earned her associate’s degree. At 12, she completed her bachelor’s degree. At 14, her master’s. Now, the teen is helping other students accomplish their academic dreams, ABC7 reports.
The young doctorate-holder founded the Dorothy Jeanius STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) Leadership Institute, holding programs, events, and summer camps for other Chicago kids who love learning.
“I felt like I had to be in either an arts program or a STEM program. I never felt like I got both at the same time. And so integrating those and making it so they know, like, the right brain can’t work without the left brain, I feel like is what makes it different,” Dorothy told the local outlet. “I think the quality is a lot better than the quantity, and so making sure I harp on curriculum.”
Some of the students who attend Dorothy’s camps have even gone on to start their own businesses.
One 14-year-old student, Tridia Davis, is using the program to start working on her musical dreams.
“They show us, you know, how to make the music and the beats. They show us the process of writing and all types of different things and it’s just really helpful,” she said.
After everything she’s achieved so far, Dorothy is still dreaming big, and emphasized the importance of “being sure of yourself to the point where nobody can shake that, nobody can shake the way you think about yourself and your goals.”
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