Sibling whiz kids are two of the youngest students at Everett Community College

EVERETT, Wash. - A brother and sister completed their first quarter of college classes this month with straight A’s. Here's the catch—the siblings aren’t even in high school yet.

Everett Community College is helping the child geniuses, Ruoyun and Qingyun Li, expand their passion for learning. The duo are two of EvCC’s youngest students. They are enrolled in online classes through the community college’s Special Underage Admissions process.

"When we learn, everything is just so fun," said 13-year-old Ruoyun.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the pair were elementary students and excelled in online learning from home.

"When everything went online, we actually had a lot more free time, so we could pursue our interests, like coding," said Ruoyun.

"My dad was actually teaching coding at that time, so I tried to challenge myself by watching his lectures and doing the homework. And I’ve been practicing coding for almost every week since then," said 12-year-old Qingyun.

Ruoyun and her younger brother said middle school was too easy, and they needed a challenge. With help from their dad searching for options in the Seattle metro area, the family found their solution at EvCC. To test their skill level, they took the ACT college entrance exam.

"I got a 36 and my sister scored a 35. So, we were really confident that we could take some college classes. And EvCC was the only one that could admit middle school students, so we were really excited about that," said Qingyun.

A perfect ACT score is 36, according to The ACT Test. In 2023, the national average ACT composite score was 19.5, with Washington’s average composite score at 24.5.

The siblings aced all their EvCC online classes, including Calculus, Statistics, and English. Qingyun and Ruoyun are also enrolled in middle school courses through a virtual learning provider called Edgenuity. The preteens said they learn best when they work together.

"We both have our own strengths and some things my sister is better at, and some things I’m better at. But when we learn, we like to learn from each other too. So, we both get smarter. That’s awesome," said Qingyun. "My best strength is that I can learn quickly. Like, when I practiced for the ACT, I did it with my sister, and we learned all the topics really quickly. And another thing I like to do is that I like to learn a lot of related things all at once, because then I can make connections between them. So, that helps me learn a lot quicker."

"The studying process, for us, was actually like a game. We competed with each other on quizzes and exams and that was really fun. And we also like to teach what we learn to our siblings. That’s also super fun," said Ruoyun. "My strengths are that I can stay organized and focused for a long time. For example, when I’m solving a coding problem, I can keep track of all my ideas simultaneously. So, when my first one doesn’t work, I can try out my second one and so on."

The young students visit the EvCC campus from time to time. They said they are hopeful to attend class in person starting next school year when their schedule allows it.

"In the meantime, we’re just going to try to learn as much as we can," said Qingyun. "We’re just really grateful for all the opportunities that EvCC has given us."

In their free time, Qingyun and Ruoyun said they like to play soccer with their younger siblings and teach them new things, like coding. The family is also creating an app using AI technology to take smart pictures. The brother and sister said they’re finalizing a patent on the new idea.

Even with all their studies and interests, Qingyun and Ruoyun already know how they want to use their education to achieve future goals.

"In the long term, I want to be a teacher of technical subject. So, whenever I learn something new, I try to teach that to my siblings and that really helps me a lot. One particular subject I’m interested in is AI. I believe that the more people understand and use AI, the more powerful it becomes," said Ruoyun.

"In the future, I want to be an engineer and work with AI because it can improve people’s lives, and it can reduce the amount of tedious work that humans have to do," said Qingyun.

The duo is a step closer to earning their college degree at such a young age. Despite their youth, their advice to inspire others with a passion for learning is beyond their years.

"It’s really important to make a team when you’re learning, because if you have a lot of friends that share the same passion, you can learn from each other," said Qingyun. "That makes learning a lot faster and more enjoyable."