At the tender age of 17 years old, Dorothy Jean Tillman earned her doctoral degree and now proudly carries the title ‘Dr.’ before her name.
She studied behavioural health at Arizona State University. For her dissertation, Dorothy studied the stigma that prevents university students from seeking mental health treatment.
Notably, Dorothy had always been exceptional in her academic pursuits. By the time she was 7 years old, she was already in high school.
At that point, she began taking college-level module tests and applying the credits toward higher education. By the age of 14, Dorothy had already completed her associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees.
Despite her impressive achievements, she turned to her mother, Jimalita Tillman, and told her she was determined to get a doctorate.
Her mother was taken aback by Dorothy’s suggestion. This occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic period. At the time, Dorothy was one year into launching a STEAM camp startup and was seeking funding.
“I was just like, ‘why?’ I thought you were done,” Dorothy’s mother told CNN.
Dorothy explained to her mother that her mission was to impact young people positively. With this explanation, she rallied support from her mother and her family.
Two years later, aged 17, Dorothy presented her PhD dissertation. When she turned 18, she walked down the convocation aisle at Arizona State University’s College of Health Solutions as Dr. Dorothy Jean Tillman.
18-year-old African girl becomes youngest PhD holder in US
“I knew what it took for her to go through that. She had to sacrifice a lot. A lot of her fears and going through different things during the pandemic,” Dorothy’s mother spoke of her daughter’s academic journey.
“She emerged as a leader without fear, showing them how to navigate online schooling.”
Besides her prosperous time with books, Dorothy dedicates a chunk of her time to running her institute, The Dorothy Jeanius STEAM Leadership Institute. This organization aims to serve young people in Chicago and African countries such as Ghana and South Africa.
“We just want to provide them with all the resources possible and the best foundation to be able to start walking on that pathway to their dreams,” she said.
Dorothy insists that despite her seemingly busy schedule, she is just a regular teen who enjoys spending time with her family and friends, giving credit to her mother as her biggest motivator.
“I definitely couldn’t have gotten this far without her, like she’s definitely the best teammate, the best supporter,” she said.
The young doctor also seeks inspiration from her grandmother, Dorothy Tillman who was Chicago’s former alderwoman. She had the privilege of working with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr during the civil rights movement.
“It’s teamwork that makes the dream work. It’s a village that builds the land. It’s having those people there with you that is going to uphold you at the end of the day.”
Now, she’s thrilled to have the chance to expand her camps and put her studies into practice. There’s potential for franchising her work so more children can benefit from her services. She also looks forward to working with more kids in Africa.
“I’ve been focusing on my studies a lot and I don’t go nearly as much as I should. Now I’m glad to have the time for things like that,” she added.
