15-year-old graduates from OCC

Amy R. Spurgeon

ORANGE COAST COLLEGE -- Around this time of year, most 15-year-olds are thinking about the beach, the latest summer flicks, or denying the fact

that they have to attend summer school.

But not Daniel Vera. The 15-year-old from Lake Forest has very different

priorities -- and an associate’s degree.

Vera joined the ranks of a prestigious group Thursday at OCC’s 52nd

commencement ceremony at LeBard Stadium in Costa Mesa. In front of

thousands of spectators, he received his associate’s degree, finishing

with a 4.0 grade-point average with honors in a two-year program he

completed in a year and a half.

Vera is now a junior at UCI, majoring in mathematics. He wants to get his

bachelor’s degree in two years, and soon after that, plans to earn

master’s and doctorate degrees from Stanford, Harvard or NYU.

Vera is not a child genius and he’s not socially inept. He’s just an

extremely focused kid with very dedicated and supportive parents.

“Oh, there he is,” his mother, Estelle Vera, said Thursday from the

bleachers, where two rows of family members and friends gathered to cheer

on Daniel. She pointed toward the grassy field where a tall, young man

donning a blue cap and gown stood among other graduates.

“We knew you could do it,” bellowed UCI friend Kevin Olson, 19.

“I didn’t know he was 15 until I saw a reporter interviewing him last

week. I was like, ‘whoa,’ ” Olson said. “It certainly took me by surprise

because he looks a lot older. The whole aura about Danny is that he looks

like a normal college student. He doesn’t look like one of those child

geniuses. I think it’s great that we don’t restrict someone from going to

college because of their age. He’s obviously mature enough and

intelligent enough to go.”

The story of Vera’s feat is quite simple. As a child, his parents

constantly read to him and paid him much attention. He was nurtured,

respected, disciplined and valued more than money, job status and

business meetings.

“I brag about him to everybody. I get to tell everybody what a great

family I have,” said Daniel’s older brother, Aaron Roblero, 25, who is in

the U.S. Navy. “But he’s a brother. He’s a pain sometimes, but I love him

with all my heart. And girls, he’s available.”

Starting in the fifth grade, Daniel was home-schooled by his mother. But

it was soon evident that he could excel at an accelerated pace, so his

parents hired UCI doctorate students to tutor him.

He did well, even enrolling in extension courses at UCI and earning the

highest marks in his classes, said his father, Joe Vera, an Orange County

mortgage broker.

However, UCI would not admit Vera as a full-time student until he proved

he could handle the work in a “traditional setting.” So he was referred

to OCC.

Overcast skies and on-and-off drizzle provided the backdrop for the

two-hour graduation ceremony Thursday. Graduates ranged in age from 15 to

55. More than 1,977 students were honored during the ceremony with

associate’s degrees or certificates.

Vera’s short- and long-term plans include getting his bachelor’s degree

from UCI and then a doctorate in math. He plans to pursue a career as a

screenwriter.

Perhaps benefiting most from Vera’s ascent to manhood is his mother, who

left her job as manager of a title insurance company to be a full-time

mom.

Over the past few years, she has driven Daniel to and from two schools

for study groups, library books, classes, bookstore necessities and

meetings with professors -- not to mention extracurricular activities

with friends.

“The most important thing right now is for him to get his driver’s

license,” Estelle laughed. “I am at his mercy.

“Mothers and housewives should be the CEOs of the family and get at least

$200,000 a year,” she said. “My job at the insurance company only

required one-third of the work I do between Danny and the house.”

After the commencement ceremony, the family huddled on the football field

for pictures. Then the group left for pepperoni pizza at Gina’s Pizza on

Harbor Boulevard -- Danny’s favorite.