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

She is a child prodigy who91裸聊视频檚 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 bachelor91裸聊视频檚 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?

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 going to be proud. I91裸聊视频檓 going to hope I don91裸聊视频檛 fall off the stage,91裸聊视频� Patricia Dennis said in an interview.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 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.91裸聊视频�

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, she91裸聊视频檚 now a law professor and has been instrumental in her daughter91裸聊视频檚 education.

91裸聊视频淚 feel like part of why I91裸聊视频檓 going to the convocation and walking across the stage is for her own benefit to say, 91裸聊视频楾hank you for being there for me.91裸聊视频� I think that91裸聊视频檚 really the main purpose of the graduation in the first place,91裸聊视频� said Patricia Dennis.

91裸聊视频淪he91裸聊视频檚 always there for me whenever I need her to be there.91裸聊视频�

Being a preteen in an intensive university program has come with a unique set of challenges. Patricia Dennis has had to deal with people91裸聊视频檚 preconceived notions and expectations about how she is going to look, talk and act based on her age.

91裸聊视频淢y advice for people who are also young, gifted, smart, talented 91裸聊视频� don91裸聊视频檛 let other people91裸聊视频檚 expectations bring you down,91裸聊视频� she said.

91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 been a major obstacle for me everywhere I go.91裸聊视频�

She also wants to inspire other intelligent and ambitious children.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 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 I91裸聊视频檝e always wanted to do,91裸聊视频� she said.

The highlight of her university career so far was completing a 40-page thesis on the relationship functional activity in the cerebellum 91裸聊视频� the part of the brain responsible for co-ordinating balance and movement 91裸聊视频� 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.

91裸聊视频淚 can now call myself a researcher,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淭here are people showing interest in what I91裸聊视频檓 doing, and I feel like the master of the cerebellum.91裸聊视频�

When she91裸聊视频檚 not researching or writing about the brain, Patricia Dennis is a 91裸聊视频渧ery good91裸聊视频� 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 she91裸聊视频檚 interested in continuing her research on functional activity in the cerebellum.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檒l probably pick it back up when I have my own lab, and I can get people to also do it with me, because I91裸聊视频檒l be in charge,91裸聊视频� she said.

Liam Fox, The Canadian Press

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