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

She is a child prodigy who鈥檚 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 bachelor鈥檚 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?

鈥淚鈥檓 going to be proud. I鈥檓 going to hope I don鈥檛 fall off the stage,鈥� Patricia Dennis said in an interview.

鈥淚鈥檓 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.鈥�

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, she鈥檚 now a law professor and has been instrumental in her daughter鈥檚 education.

鈥淚 feel like part of why I鈥檓 going to the convocation and walking across the stage is for her own benefit to say, 鈥楾hank you for being there for me.鈥� I think that鈥檚 really the main purpose of the graduation in the first place,鈥� said Patricia Dennis.

鈥淪he鈥檚 always there for me whenever I need her to be there.鈥�

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

鈥淢y advice for people who are also young, gifted, smart, talented 鈥� don鈥檛 let other people鈥檚 expectations bring you down,鈥� she said.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 been a major obstacle for me everywhere I go.鈥�

She also wants to inspire other intelligent and ambitious children.

鈥淚鈥檓 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 I鈥檝e always wanted to do,鈥� she said.

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

鈥淚 can now call myself a researcher,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here are people showing interest in what I鈥檓 doing, and I feel like the master of the cerebellum.鈥�

When she鈥檚 not researching or writing about the brain, Patricia Dennis is a 鈥渧ery good鈥� 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 she鈥檚 interested in continuing her research on functional activity in the cerebellum.

鈥淚鈥檒l probably pick it back up when I have my own lab, and I can get people to also do it with me, because I鈥檒l be in charge,鈥� she said.

Liam Fox, The Canadian Press

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