A 5-year-old boy whose dad is stationed at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in D.C. has just been admitted into an exclusive club.
Kaleo Kekuewa-Kwon has been admitted to Mensa, the world’s oldest and largest society of people with high IQs.
“We’re just completely just blown away,” said his mother, Mailani Kekuewa.
Kaleo’s father, Sebastian Kwon, is an Air Force major at the Southwest D.C. base, and his mother works for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The couple said they quickly noticed their son was very intelligent. At only 15 months old, he mastered the alphabet; a year later, he was counting to the thousands and could do basic math.
During his interview with WTOP, Kaleo rapidly called out addition problems and had their solutions.
By five, he had taught himself to read, according to his father: “In his pre-K class, his teacher (shared) that ‘I was reading to the class one day, and he popped up and said, let me read.’ And he read to the class!”
Kaleo has always been inquisitive, according to his parents, and drawn toward learning. He found joy in using his tablet to learn new things.
His mother recalled finding him one day, learning sign language.
“I’m like, ‘wow.’ It’s just inside and outside of the classroom, he just has this longing and desire for learning,” his mother said.
His parents said he quickly became bored with pre-K and kindergarten workbooks, so they gave his workbooks meant for first and second graders. He even helps his older brothers with their homework.
When his brother started piano lessons, Kaleo decided he wanted to learn the instrument as well, and two weeks into lessons, he could play the opening of Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 5.”
His parents said at around the age of 3, they had first talked about getting his IQ tested but decided to wait. But they didn’t wait too long.
“He just continued to shock us every day with his questions, his curiosity, the things that he would know or want to do. So, we’re like, ‘OK, I think we need to revisit this,’” his mother said.
Kekuewa said after the testing, they would discover he scored in the top .01% on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-IV) test.
“He just tested off the charts,” his mother said.
But Kaleo is still a 5-year-old, his parents joked as he squirmed while sitting on his mother’s lap during the interview, but they are excited about what the future holds for their son.
As he begins kindergarten, Kaleo’s parents plan to get their son involved in Mensa activities as well. In two years, their goal is to move back to Hawai’i and have Kaleo attend Kamehameha Schools, a private school system.
“He’s going to have a bright future ahead of him, for sure,” his father said.
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