© 2026 ABC News

\"We're thrilled with him and the part hat makes us the happiest is to see him happy and fulfilled,\" Jordan said. \"Tom struggled in a traditional setting and we took a chance taking him from middle school to college but it was the best thing in the world for him.\"

\"PHOTO:
Kathy Jordan
PHOTO: Tom Jordan, 15, poses with his brother Marshall, 14, and his parents. Tom, of North Canton, Ohio, is being honored in two graduation commencements as he's receiving both a high school diploma and two-year college degree just five days apart.
>
\"PHOTO:
Kathy Jordan
PHOTO: Tom Jordan, an aspiring math professor, officially graduated from Stark State College in North Canton, Ohio on May 24 with a 3.93 GPA. On May 29, Tom will also celebrate the end of his high school career.
>

Tom's advice to students is to follow a system and find a good balance between studying and having fun.

\"A lot of people have the brains and thought process, but they don't have the organization and work ethic,\" he said. \"If you can improve upon those things, it can really make a difference.\"

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Living/15-year-graduate-high-school-diploma-college-degree/story?id=70872977","legacySlug":"/living/story/15-year-graduate-high-school-diploma-college-degree-70872977","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"20:42","publishDate":"05-25-2020","updatedTime":"17:33","updatedDate":"05-26-2020","socialImage":{"alt":"Tom Jordan, an aspiring math professor, officially graduated from Stark State College in North Canton, Ohio on May 24 with a 3.93 GPA. He earned an associate's degree in general science. On May 29, Tom will also celebrate the end of his career at GlenOak High School with a GPA of 4.625.","credit":"Kathy Jordan","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/teen-graduates-high-school-and-college-ht-MAIN-np-200525_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"5/25/2020 20:42:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":70872977,"headline":"Teen graduates with high school and college degree","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_This 15-year-old is graduating with a high school and college degree the same week_200525","description":"Stark State College held a virtual commencement recognizing Tom Jordan.","duration":"0:48","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/05/200518_gma_digital_twins38schools_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["70832650","70744709","70509470"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"May 22, 2020","headline":"91-year-old former teacher shares best advice for graduating seniors amid COVID-19","section":"living","slug":"/living/story/91-year-teacher-shares-best-advice-graduating-seniors-70832650","id":70832650,"image":{"alt":"91-year-old former teacher shares best advice for graduating seniors amid COVID-19","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/91-year-teacher-shares-best-advice-graduating-seniors-ht-MAIN-np-2021_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Westminster Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay Retirement Community","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"May 18, 2020","headline":"Twins accepted to 38 colleges with $1M in scholarships hope to become nurses","section":"living","slug":"/living/story/twins-accepted-38-colleges-1m-scholarships-hope-nurses-70744709","id":70744709,"image":{"alt":"Twins accepted to 38 colleges with $1M in scholarships hope to become nurses","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/twins-colleges-main-ht-jt-200518_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Dr. Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"May 6, 2021","headline":"Teacher who went viral for memorizing 75 handshakes beats COVID-19","section":"living","slug":"/living/story/teacher-viral-memorizing-75-handshakes-beats-covid-19-70509470","id":70509470,"image":{"alt":"Teacher who went viral for memorizing 75 handshakes beats COVID-19","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/teacher-75-handshakes-beats-covid-ht-MAIN-np-200505_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"David Jamison","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Teen graduates with high school and college degree","description":"Stark State College held a virtual commencement recognizing Tom Jordan.","duration":"0:48","uploadDate":"05-25-2020","publication":"05-25-2020","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/05/200518_gma_digital_twins38schools_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2020/05/200518_gma_digital_twins38schools_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/15-year-graduate-high-school-diploma-college-degree-70872977"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133358298","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133350119","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307515","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307527","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133282665","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133220149","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133179167","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144373","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144059","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133143081","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133075455","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133063114","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133063086","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133015093","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132998564","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132998072","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:living:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"living","title":"Teen graduates with high school and college degree","pubTime":"16:42","pubDate":"05-25-2020","modTime":"13:33","modDate":"05-26-2020","taxonomyTags":"none","id":70872977,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Teen graduates with high school and college degree","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_This 15-year-old is graduating with a high school and college degree the same week_200525","videoId":70872977,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/living/story/15-year-graduate-high-school-diploma-college-degree-70872977"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/70872977","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/70872977","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};