Anthaea-Grace Patricia Dennis is not your typical 12-year-old.

She is a child prodigy whoB次元官网网址檚 about to become the youngest Canadian to ever graduate from university.

On Saturday, Patricia Dennis will walk across the University of Ottawa stage and accept a bachelorB次元官网网址檚 degree in biomedical science.

She started the program when she was nine, at a time when most of her peers were playing games at recess.

So how is this wunderkind feeling about the big day?

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 going to be proud. IB次元官网网址檓 going to hope I donB次元官网网址檛 fall off the stage,B次元官网网址� Patricia Dennis said in an interview.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 going to be happy for myself too, not just for other people. I am proud of myself for getting to this point, despite all the hurdles and blocks that there have been for a person like me.B次元官网网址�

Perhaps no one will be more proud or excited than her biggest supporter, her mom Johanna Dennis.

Dennis said she realized her daughter was special when she was around two-and-a-half years old. She has felt so ever since.

The pair have a close bond.

Dennis was a single mother while she built her own academic career. After obtaining a number of degrees, sheB次元官网网址檚 now a law professor and has been instrumental in her daughterB次元官网网址檚 education.

B次元官网网址淚 feel like part of why IB次元官网网址檓 going to the convocation and walking across the stage is for her own benefit to say, B次元官网网址楾hank you for being there for me.B次元官网网址� I think thatB次元官网网址檚 really the main purpose of the graduation in the first place,B次元官网网址� said Patricia Dennis.

B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檚 always there for me whenever I need her to be there.B次元官网网址�

Being a preteen in an intensive university program has come with a unique set of challenges. Patricia Dennis has had to deal with peopleB次元官网网址檚 preconceived notions and expectations about how she is going to look, talk and act based on her age.

B次元官网网址淢y advice for people who are also young, gifted, smart, talented B次元官网网址� donB次元官网网址檛 let other peopleB次元官网网址檚 expectations bring you down,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 been a major obstacle for me everywhere I go.B次元官网网址�

She also wants to inspire other intelligent and ambitious children.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 very motivated by the fact that I can be the first (to do) something. You know, being able to show other young, gifted and talented people that something like this is possible, that you can get through these roadblocks, has always been something that IB次元官网网址檝e always wanted to do,B次元官网网址� she said.

The highlight of her university career so far was completing a 40-page thesis on the relationship functional activity in the cerebellum B次元官网网址� the part of the brain responsible for co-ordinating balance and movement B次元官网网址� and handedness.

The paper concluded that connectivity between the brain and hand is significantly different for people who are right-handed versus those who are left-handed.

After researching the topic for around a year, Patricia Dennis presented her findings at the Ottawa-Carleton Institute of Biology Symposium.

B次元官网网址淚 can now call myself a researcher,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭here are people showing interest in what IB次元官网网址檓 doing, and I feel like the master of the cerebellum.B次元官网网址�

When sheB次元官网网址檚 not researching or writing about the brain, Patricia Dennis is a B次元官网网址渧ery goodB次元官网网址� violinist, her mom said.

She also loves playing with her cats and binge-watching TV shows with her family.

After a well-earned break from her studies over the summer, Patricia Dennis is pursuing postgraduate school.

Her top three candidates are McGill University, the University of Toronto and the Illinois Institute of Technology, and sheB次元官网网址檚 interested in continuing her research on functional activity in the cerebellum.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檒l probably pick it back up when I have my own lab, and I can get people to also do it with me, because IB次元官网网址檒l be in charge,B次元官网网址� she said.

Liam Fox, The Canadian Press

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