Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 28, 1992 TAG: 9201280073
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: COSTA MESA, CALIF. LENGTH: Medium
BOY COULD BE REAL-LIFE `DOOGIE HOWSER'
At his current pace, Masoud Karkehabadi may well have to buy malpractice insurance before he's old enough to buy a beer.The 10-year-old boy is a premed student at Orange Coast College. He could complete his training as a physician by the time he's 18 and eligible for a California license.
"This is an amazing gift he has. I don't take credit for it," said Masoud's father, Mike, a former Iranian fighter pilot who works as a loan broker for a Toyota dealership in suburban Los Angeles. "This is something God gave him to use."
And use it he has. At 18 months he could watch an MTV video and immediately recall all the words. At 4 years he could read a newspaper and recite it. At 6 he helped his aunt study nursing by reading her textbook and explaining it to her.
Masoud wanted to enroll in college at age 7, but his father put his foot down. He wanted his son to have a childhood.
"I was worried that it was too soon. Seven years old in college?" said Karkehabadi. "He drove me crazy for the next two years. So at 9, I let him enroll."
At first, things did not go too well for the pint-size freshman. Some students cursed him and others told him to shut up when he answered questions before the instructor could explain them.
His father wanted to take him out of college after three weeks, but academic life changed for the better after Masoud offered to tutor students in algebra and anatomy.
Masoud, who has kept up a perfect 4.0 grade point average in junior college, plans to enroll next fall at the University of California, Irvine, to pursue a biological sciences degree.
"I want to be able to find the cure for Alzheimer's because I want to use my gift to help society," Masoud said.
Masoud still shows flashes of being a child. One day at college, he dropped his book bag and climbed a tree.
"Do you see any other college students climbing in the trees?" his father asked.
"No," Masoud answered. "But, Dad, I'm just a kid."