Gladys Tong may be young, but the 18-year-old Singapore native will reach a milestone this week. Scheduled as the student speaker during the University of Hawaii at Hilo's fall commencement ceremony Dec. 19, she will be one of the youngest students to ever graduate with a four-year degree.

Admissions officials say they can't be sure if the business administration major holds the record because they do not track students' birthdays. But they stressed that Tong's accomplishment is all the more impressive by the fact that she completed her studies in only two-and-a-half years.

"What's the rush?" one might ask. With a 20-year-old sister, Candace, currently attending classes at UHH, Tong says she wanted to lessen the financial burden on her parents.


Tong was schooled in Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China before enrolling at UHH, where she has maintained a 3.34 GPA. She said the rigorous Asian schools were great preparation for tackling her busy class schedule. According to International Student Services Director Ruth Robison, it was her varied background that aided Tong in becoming part of the college community. "She came in as a citizen of the world already, and I think that helped her to make the transition," she said.

Tong said diving into college shortly after her 16th birthday posed a few problems — mainly in the way that she was viewed by her classmates.

"They always compared themselves with me. Sometimes they looked down on me. ... And sometimes I got better grades than they did," she said.

Her age also proved to be a barrier in certain social situations. "When they go to the bars ... and parties ... I can't join them," she said.

"But, I think I've proven that age isn't a factor in stopping you from accomplishing what you want to be."

Despite overloading herself with class credits, Tong managed to maintain a lively extracurricular schedule.

She helped students integrate into UHH and the local culture as a student orientation leader, and directed publicity for the International Student Organization's International Nights and United Nations Day. She also served as a writer and the advertising manager for the student newspaper Ke Kalahea.

Most recently, she was among a select group of students from the College of Business and Economics during a visit from an accreditation team with the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, participating in the strategic planning process of the college.

Asked if she had any regrets about her experience, Tong said there was only one: If she had it all to do over, she would avoid working so many jobs while also studying and participating in campus life.

"I got greedy and worked more than two jobs," she said matter-of-factly. Tong earned spending money working as a store assistant at the 'Imiloa Astronomy Center and taking down class notes for disabled students, which afforded her the opportunity to absorb a variety of other subjects besides those in her own business major.

A dual citizen of Singapore and Hong Kong, Tong says she plans on returning to the latter, where she hopes to become an inspector in the city's police force. Of course, in typical Tong fashion, nothing is ever that simple: She's also applying to pursue a master's degree in the Global Business Communications Program at Tsing Hua University in Beijing.