| Benjamin Bolger | |
| Birth Name: | Benjamin Bradley Bolger |
| Birth Place: | Flint, Michigan, United States |
| Education: | Muskegon Community College (AA) (BA) Yale University University of Oxford (MSc) University of Cambridge (MPhil) Stanford University (MA) Columbia University (MA, MSc) Harvard University (MDes, DDes) Brown University (MA) Boston College (MA) Dartmouth College (MA) Brandeis University (MA) Skidmore College (MA) Ashland University (MFA) University of Tampa (MFA) West Virginia Wesleyan College (MFA) University of Georgia (MFA) University of Pennsylvania Georgetown University College of William and Mary George Washington University Ithaca College Cornell University |
Benjamin Bradley Bolger (born 1975) is an American perpetual student who had earned 16 academic degrees as of March 2022.[1] [2]
Benjamin Bolger was born to Donald, an engineer with General Motors, and Loretta, a schoolteacher, and was raised in Grand Haven, Michigan. At the age of two, his parents were both seriously injured when the family was involved in a near-fatal car accident caused by a drunk driver; Bolger says that this encouraged him to make the most out of his life.[1] [3]
In first grade, he was diagnosed with dyslexia. Special education programs did not help him, and, in fourth grade, his mother began home-schooling Bolger, while undergoing a divorce.[4] At the age of 12, Bolger began taking classes at Muskegon Community College, graduating with an A.A. by the age of 17. He then transferred with those credits to the University of Michigan, majored in sociology, and graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 grade point average.[5] From there, he took an internship with the Clinton Administration with Press Secretary Mike McCurry.[6] Bolger's mother moved with him to each college and university that he attended and helps him by reading his assignments to him aloud.[3]
In 1995, when Bolger was 19, he entered Yale Law School to study for a JD, but dropped out when he was unable to compensate for his dyslexia. After receiving additional training for his dyslexia, he enrolled at Oxford University, thus beginning his quest for degrees. His mother accompanied and supported him through much of his education to help with his work, from Ann Arbor to Oxford.
After accumulating several master's degrees, he received his first doctorate in 2008 at the age of 33, from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
He has also studied, but did not ultimately complete graduate degrees at the University of Pennsylvania,[7] Georgetown University,[8] and in 2004 at Boston College's Lynch School of Education towards an MA in higher education.
Bolger worked as a visiting professor at the College of William and Mary.
As of 2022, he was working remotely toward a 17th degree, in writing performance, from the University of Cambridge in England.[1]
Bolger endeavors to sleep only 4–5 hours a night.[1] He has two children, a daughter named Benjamina Brook and a son named Benjamin Blitz, both of whom are home-schooled.[1]