Search Database

<p class='gtc_p' >She crawled completely across her parents' bed when she was just eight days old. She spoke her first words 19 days later. At 13 months, she was reading books for second and third graders. She could recite every element of the periodic table by the time she was two-and-a-half. At three-years-old, she was considered on the level of a fifth grade student.
<p class='gtc_p' >Theresa Dina is a gifted child. <p class='gtc_p' >Now nine years old, Theresa is studying music theory in Robert Elam's class and taking piano lessons under the direction of Philip Martorella on campus. She has also attended Biology 111 classes at RIC. <p class='gtc_p' >"She's a very intelligent and charming young lady. It's a pleasure to have her as a student," said Martorella, who is working with Theresa on Beethoven's Fur Elise. She also wants to learn to play the violin and harp after she masters the piano. <p class='gtc_p' >Theresa's attendance at the College is the first time she's been in a traditional classroom setting. After unsuccessful attempts to enroll their daughter in educational institutions that would challenge Theresa's abilities, Michelle and Adebayo Dina took the advice of a pediatrician to have her schooled at home, following the Davidson Foundation's Young Scholar Program, developed for gifted children, where she was one of 15 in their pilot group. (In 2001, when this article was written, there were 110 Davidson scholars nationally.) <p class='gtc_p' >Theresa's parents sought RIC as a way for their daughter to become intellectually challenged in a more open, academic setting. Her father, a native of Nigeria, took information technology classes at the College in 1993 and was impressed with the quality of education and the campus surroundings. <p class='gtc_p' >Along with her advanced course of study, she has also toured the beauty pageant circuit. Last August, she won the title of Miss Rhode Island Sweetheart. She is preparing for the national competition of the Miss America Co-ed Pageant, a sister pageant of the Miss America Pageant for younger age categories, in November where she plans to perform the Beethoven piece. <p class='gtc_p' >With a passion for learning and an undeniable will to succeed, Theresa wants to be a doctor when she grows up, a goal she's aspired to since she was three. "I want to be the one who finds a cure for cancer," she says proudly <p class='gtc_p' >Her interest in biology and cancer research led her family to contact Dr. Keith L. Black, a renowned brain surgeon at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in California, after an in-depth conversation between Theresa and her biochemist uncle on the possible link between treatments for diabetics and cancer patients. Theresa was four-and-a-half years old at the time. <p class='gtc_p' >In her spare time, Theresa reads mystery novels and sings gospel music. Like other girls her age, she enjoys gymnastics, tap dancing, ballet and swimming. <p class='gtc_p' >In Nigerian, Theresa's name is translated as Oluseyi and means "a blessing of God." President John Nazarian said, "It is an appropriate name for a young lady who is blessed and will undoubtedly develop her many gifts and talents.

Permission Statement

Permission to reprint this article was granted to by the author, Director of News and Public Relations, Rhode Island College.

This article is provided as a service of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted young people 18 and under. To learn more about the Davidson Institute’s programs, please visit www.DavidsonGifted.org.