In December, 16-year-old high school senior Darrel Bryant will graduate from St. John Academy a year earlier than scheduled.
t’s not often an 11-year-old writes a book about anti-bullying, but it’s less often a 16-year-old graduates from high school early. What if we told you in a month, Savannah native Darrel Bryant would do both?
In December, 16-year-old high school senior Bryant will graduate from St. John Academy a
Five years ago, Bryant wrote the anti-bullying book “The Flower Nerd” after watching the news and seeing a 10-year-old Colorado girl die by suicide as a result of bullying. That story has since sold 350 copies.
Buy a copy of “The Flower Nerd” here.
However, this was not the first sign of how intelligent and special Bryant is.
“I’ve known him since seventh grade. He’s now in 12th,” said Janice West, a teacher at St. John Academy. “I was excited for him (when they announced his early graduation). Yeah, he deserves it. He’s worked hard and he deserves to leave early.”
Throughout high school, Bryant maintains a 4.0 GPA and is an honorary member of The National Society of High School Scholars.
His mother, Shyann, told WJCL 22 News that his determination blows her away. Darrel is a student, son, author and an inspiration to those around him.
“He’s always had that mindset to just always just be a go-getter. Always wants to do more, always wants to go above and beyond,” said Tywana Barnes, Bryant’s cousin and math tutor. “Being average has never been a part of his character.”
When asked about why he works so hard, Bryant said, “I want to be able to create an image for myself that shows who I am to others. I want to inspire other people to do great things.”
His determination landed Bryant, as of Nov. 3, 17 direct college admission offers, with scholarships totaling $600,000. Furthermore, schools like SCAD, Harvard, Yale, Brown and more gave official invites to the 16-year-old.
“You just have to make goals for yourself and just don’t mind what other people say,” Bryant said in response to how he would encourage himself and other students. “‘Oh, you can’t do that. You can’t do that.’ Yes, you can. Don’t let others degrade you or discourage you from your goals.”
A 16-year-old high school senior who’s graduating early not only proves himself in the gradebook, but likes to play video games, go outside and make stop-motion videos in his free time.
However, most of his time at home is spent studying and learning, and he is always eager to learn more. This bug affected the students around him.
“He’s going out and he’s going to grab whatever it takes. And he loves reading. His fellow students have kind of piggybacked,” West said.
She then gestured around her classroom, “The ones you see still here are some that I can talk about because they look up to him.”
As their younger classmate, Bryant has not only inspired his peers to strive for more, but his teachers, mentors and family.
“Anything is possible, just as long as you put your mind to it,” Bryant said.
Update 6 a.m. Nov. 13, 2023:
Shyann Bryant forwarded this link to purchase copies of “The Flower Nerd” if you are interested in reading.