CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFTS) — At just 11 years old, Marcus Serrano is already working on his first college degree at St. Petersburg College (SPC). He just completed his first semester of courses.
Marcus took on a tough course load: calculus 1, geometry, macroeconomics, and college composition I & II, earning a total of 14 college credits.
We first told you about Marcus just before he embarked on his new adventure.
WATCH: Think college is just for adults? Meet 11-year-old Marcus Serrano
Despite the challenges of being one of the youngest students on campus, Marcus described his experience as overwhelmingly positive.
"It was very welcoming. SPC was not daunting at all," he explained, recalling the supportive environment that eased his transition from regular school to college-level classes.
He says he even made friends on campus.
"I got the pool table and I play with the SPC kids. Well, not kids, more like adults," he laughed.
His parents, Ernie and Jolanta, couldn't be prouder of their son. They say he pulled off a great semester despite a tough year.
"During that, this first semester that just passed, I was diagnosed with skin cancer, and then I had a heart attack, And then, and then they had a car accident. Then I ended up in the hospital a couple of times, just from, you know, chest pains," his father explained. "So there's been a lot of things going on in the family and yet, he has a 4.0 and he's accomplished 14 credits at college at SpC, so we're super proud."
His parents say they saw Marcus's extraordinary capabilities early on.
"It was when the VPK director pulled me inside and said, 'You need to have him tested for gifted as soon as he gets to kindergarten', which we did, and the teacher, within the first couple of months identified him as he needs testing," his mother recalled. "He was in a part-time gifted program in kindergarten, with kids who were first through fifth grade, and he was excelling, and he was just doing so great."
Over the summer, he started a new challenge: learning Spanish.
"I'm working on my Spanish, getting ready for the CLEP test, Spanish levels one and two, all one test," he said. "I started two weeks ago. I'm gonna finish in about two weeks. So I'm only at like 60% of the course online."
Looking forward, Marcus aims to continue his education at SPC.
"I'm gonna take my second semester in fall, but the ultimate like achievement is going to be, well, my PhD at 18. But right now it's getting my AA at 13; finishing spring of 2027," he said.
He's still considering what he'll do after school. One option? To pursue a career in artificial intelligence.
"Or make something new. I don't know. Do something great," he said.
Despite sitting in a classroom with adults, Marcus is still an 11-year-old kid. The cast on his wrist is proof of that.
"I just fell off my bike, but I've got many signatures, because my friends came over for a pool party,” he joked.
Balancing Marcus's accelerated academic life with normal childhood activities has been a priority for the Serranos.
"We try to make sure that we have play dates with kids his age. We have friends locally that we get together with for various activities. You know, we do kids stuff with him. We swim in the pool, we go bike riding. He does a lot of things that other 11-year-olds do, and we make sure that he gets plenty of play time in addition to all the study that he does," his mother said.
In addition to academics, Marcus has taken up chess and Rubik’s Cube solving.
"I learned chess about eight months ago and really improved my rating," he said, showing off all of his wins online.
Through it all, this 11-year-old balances humble and confident, no matter what challenge is in front of him.
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