18-year-old to graduate from Aquinas College

It's graduation time and many students in West Michigan are celebrating their accomplishments. But one local teenager, really stands out.

Ryan Lomonoco proved how extraordinary he was as a toddler and years later, he's still doing it.

Ryan Lomonoco grew up bowling, it's his father's business.

"I've bowled ever since I was about three-years-old."

We first met him when he was just five-years-old at a bowl-a-thon to help children with learning disabilities. A program Ryan was familiar with, he was in it because he could not talk by the time he was a toddler and there was concern he had a learning problem. "A therapist came until I was old enough to go there and all of a sudden I was talking and reading the Grand Rapids Press!" And 12 years later.... "I'm 18-years-old and on Saturday I'll be graduating from Aquinas College!" Ryan didn't have a problem, he had a gift. And now he is the youngest student to enroll and graduate in the history of Aquinas College.

"It's certainly a lot easier being an 18-year-old graduating from college. "A lot of people haven't noticed and that's really made it a lot easier. At the high school level I was probably a foot shorter than people in my grade."

Yes, Ryan graduated from Catholic Central High when he was just 14-years-old. His first two years of college also presented some challenges. "My parents would drop me off to some classes. That was a little bit of a pain, at least I have a car now."

And while this "whiz kid" excels at academics, playing and working at his family's bowling center has also given him social skills. "I'm more normal than you'd think. I think I blend in relatively easily with the crowd and this is sort of an unusual part of my life that people find out about every four years." Today, Ryan will receive his bachelor's degree in computer science, with minors in political science and business. And he's not done yet, in the fall he'll go to Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo for his graduate degree in computer science. The next big change, moving away from his family for the first time. But he says that's what most 18-year-olds do, live on campus when they go to college.