Valencia College Stories

Whiz Kid Graduates from Valencia College at Age 14

What’s next? UCF and then medical school

— by Linda Shrieves

Move over, Doogie Howser, and make way for Gracie Sous.

The fictional Howser was a 16-year-old doctor on the 1990s TV series, portrayed by then-teenaged actor Neil Patrick Harris.

Gracie Sous is 14 and graduating from Valencia College in December with an Associate in Arts degree. She’ll start at the University of Central Florida in January – and hopes to begin applying to medical school when she’s 17.

Her path from elementary school whiz kid to Valencia College is a fast-forward path to college.

It all started at Metrowest Elementary School in Orlando, where her kindergarten and first-grade teachers recognized that she wasn’t your typical student – and with the help of guidance counselors, they began plotting a path that would keep Gracie challenged.

“At a young age, my teachers noticed that I was academically and emotionally mature..So I came to realize that God gave me a good brain. Why not use it?” says Gracie.

By the time she was in fifth grade, she was ready to venture beyond gifted classes – so, after consulting with guidance counselors and her mom, she began taking sixth grade classes online through Florida Virtual School the summer that she completed elementary school.

In the fall, she headed to Gotha Middle School, where she began taking 7th grade classes in person at Gotha, and 8th grade classes online through Florida Virtual School.

“It wasn’t like I was skipping grades. I took the workload. And took multiple classes at once. That’s how I finished the three years in one year.”

At 12, she was in 9th grade at Olympia High School, taking those classes in person, while simultaneously taking 10th grade classes through Florida Virtual School. There, she learned about Valencia College’s dual enrollment program and decided that sounded perfect for her.

So in January 2023, Grace started classes at Valencia’s West Campus. She expected to stand out, but no one seemed to notice – or care – that she was much younger than the other students in the classes.

“Although I was 4-10 inches tall, no one noticed,” she says, laughing. “Everyone was so welcoming and nice. I never felt talked down to; it was a refreshing change from high school.”

She quickly was invited to take honors classes through Valencia’s Seneff Honors College – and found many like-minded students.  “I liked connecting with people who shared my interests and aspirations -- to aim high.”

Valencia opened up opportunities for her – not just to learn science, which is her passion, but to spread her wings to dive into history, humanities and more.  She even enjoyed recruiting students at West Campus to participate in a survey for a research project about online communities.

 

 

“Gracie's passion for learning and her thoughtful approach to both her studies and her relationships with peers and faculty made her an absolute joy to teach,” said Professor Becca Toole, a communications professor at Valencia College.

 Although Gracie graduated in December 2024 with a 4.0 GPA and could likely excel in any field, she wants to become a doctor – inspired by her father, an internal medicine physician who died of cancer when Gracie was 7.

“I remember trying to talk with the doctors when he was in the hospital. They were always very shocked with how mature I was, but I wanted to understand what was going on, so I would ask what medicines are you using, what procedures are you doing, et cetera,” says Gracie. “I’m still very interested in medicine today.”

Gracie is starting classes at the University of Central Florida in January, where she’ll major in health sciences – and study hard to prepare for medical school.

Of course, she’ll turn 15 in February and won’t have her driver’s license when she starts at UCF, so she’ll rely on her mom, Irieny Sourial, to drive her to the UCF campus, just as her mom shuttled her between her classes at Olympia High School and Valencia College.

“My mom is my cheerleader, caregiver, my friend,” she says. “She did have to drive me around. I’m so thankful she had the time to do that.”

Gracie graduated from Valencia College with two distinctions: First for graduating with a perfect GPA, but also with an honors certificate. But rather than brag, she is grateful to the professors and staffers who helped her grow. “I have to give a great big shoutout to the Writing Center on West Campus,” she says. “The staff was so sweet and always gave me advice -- what shortcuts I could use, grammar tips. They even helped me with my essay for UCF and scholarship essays.”

“As a 14-year-old graduate, I always tried to aim high,” she adds. “If I shoot for the moon and I miss, at least l’ll land on the stars.”