By Steve Hopkins
She graduated high school at 8 and is now working towards a masters degree.
A child prodigy, who has an IQ higher than Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, is studying for a master’s degree in engineering – age 11.
Adhara Pérez Sánchez reportedly finished elementary school at five, according to Goalcast, then finished middle and high school a year later.
Her remarkable story has recently told in Marie Claire Mexico.
Adhara, of Mexico City, grew up in the low-income neighbourhood of Tláhauc and was often bullied in school for being autistic.
She was diagnosed with the disorder at age three after her speech significantly regressed.
According to the the Irish Society for Autism, Autism can affect the way a person thinks, communicates, interacts, and experiences the world around them. Autism is referred to as a spectrum, and it affects different people in different ways.
After years of suffering in the classroom, with teachers losing their patience, and students bullying her at three different schools, Adhara began to isolate herself, her family told Marie Claire Mexico.
Her mother, Nayeli Sánchez, told the magazine, her daughter’s teachers were not “very empathetic” and would tell her they wished “she would finish an assignment”.
“She began to exclude herself, she did not want to play with her classmates, she felt strange, different,” Nayeli explained.
“She could be at school for a while but then she couldn’t, she fell asleep, she didn’t want to do things anymore,” she continued.
“She was very depressed, people did not have empathy, they made fun of her.”
Despite this, Nayeli noticed her daughter had already taught herself algebra and had memorised the periodic table.
She didn’t make much of it, though, thinking her daughter must simply have been bored.
💪🏽#MexicanPower🇲🇽
¿Conoces a Adhara Pérez⁉️Esta niña veracruzana de 11 años tiene un IQ de 162, más alto que Einstein y Stephen Hawking😱‼️
Ahora es portada de la revista Marie Claire, lleva el nombre de México en alto y cuenta su sueño de ser astronauta👩🏽🚀#OrgulloMexicano pic.twitter.com/C5tOMhni4i— Noticias Énfasis (@enfasisnoticias) April 14, 2023
Nayeli got her daughter therapy to help with depression, and was advised to send her to the Center for Attention to Talent (CEDAT), a school for gifted children.
There, she blew minds.
Her IQ was found to be 162, higher than both Einstein and Hawking. They both had an IQ of 160.
She was first introduced to Hawking when she visited one of her doctors, who had an office full of artwork displaying the scientist.
“He was very intelligent, he manifested with his mind and through the computer,” her doctor told her, according to Marie Claire Mexico, and there her fascination with space and the British physicist was born.
Adhara has completed a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering from CNCI University and is currently studying a master’s program in mathematics at the Technological University of Mexico.
She hopes to one day catch the sights of NASA and dreams of exploring Mars.
In her social media posts, Adhara is often seen wearing clothing bearing the NASA logo.
According to a report in Goalcast, Adhara explained that her name “is a star from the Canis Major constellation.
“Wezen is right above Adhara. Aludra is right below Adhara.”
She went on to tell the publication she wants to go to space and “colonize Mars”.
“If you don’t like where you are, imagine where you want to be. I see myself at NASA, so it’s worth a try.”
Adhara’s educational fast-track began after her mum accidentally enrolled her in a contest she thought was for children. A teacher had advised Nayeli to send in an application for her daughter and there Adhara discovered she wanted to be an astronaut.
The young girl hopes to continue her education at the University of Arizona, where she can study astrophysics.
The school had offered her a scholarship, but it was deferred due to visa issues.
When not studying, Adhara works with the Mexican Space Agency to help promote space exploration and mathematics to other young girls.
She is also currently working toward finishing her G-tests that will allow her to man flights through an agency that has connections to NASA that supports young scientists.
According to Marie Claire Mexico, when she passes, she’ll be around 17 and the first autistic person to fly.
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