Hillsborough County student with record GPA receives college diploma weeks before finishing high school

TAMPA, Fla. - A Gaither High School senior who set the Hillsborough County Schools grade point average record received his college diploma weeks before finishing high school.

Dylan Mazard's high school GPA is an astonishing 11.84, which might also be the highest ever recorded in the state.

"I kind of just worked as hard as possible and took advantage of everything high school had to offer," Dylan said before his Hillsborough Community College graduation. "My parents are always saying that education is the one thing that changes the trajectory of somebody's life, it helps them realize their true potential."

Dylan has always been ahead of the curve, taking Florida Virtual high school classes in sixth grade. By eighth grade, he was enrolled in classes at HCC. Then came the countless Honors and AP courses in high school.

He even spends his summers learning.

"Every summer, I would prepare for the following year and just make sure that I would be one step ahead," he said. "So that it would be not only easier for me, but allow me to do more."

Dylan's father, Thomas Mazard, noticed his son was advanced at an early age. When Dylan was three years old, he was doing multiplication tables. Not long after that, he was reading books to his father.

"I'm inspired by his work ethics, his levels of intellect," said Thomas Mazard, who is a guidance counselor at Gaither. "My son's future...the sky's the limit. I'm not sure where God is going to take him, but wherever that is, I just hope that he can change the world."

Dylan's next stop is MIT, where he plans to be a Computer Science major. After that he wants to earn his doctorate and become a software engineer.

"I'm a very hard worker, and I feel like if I put my mind to something, I'll be able to achieve whatever it is," he said.

If his academic achievements weren't impressive enough, Dylan also completed more than 200 community service hours, spending most of that time volunteering at the Humane Society and tutoring his classmates.