Benjamin Bolger

Benjamin Bolger (born 1975) is an American perpetual student who had earned 16 academic degrees as of March 2022.

Biography

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.

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. 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. From there, he took an internship with the Clinton Administration with Press Secretary Mike McCurry. Bolger's mother moved with him to each college and university that he attended and helped him by reading his assignments to him aloud.

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.