There's a 12-year-old sophomore at Pinckney High, and she's got big plans

PINCKNEY — An impressive list of accomplishments obscures the fact that Pinckney High School sophomore Carly Cervelli is only 12 years old.

Cervelli, who began high school math at the age of 8, grew several inches this year to 5-foot-3. She blends in more than she did as a freshman. Carly has also become more comfortable with the social ramifications of attending high school with students several years older than her.

She plans to graduate in May 2026, roughly two full years before she can even get a driver’s license.

“I do want to finish high school early and get to college quickly,” Cervelli said. She hopes to attend the University of Michigan as an undergraduate, then the University of Michigan Medical School, where she hopes to launch her career as a surgeon.

As her mother Darcy says: “Carly has already planned much of her life, so I wouldn’t doubt her about anything.”

Darcy said Pinckney Area Schools has done a “great job" helping Carly feel both challenged and comfortable at school. Carly said her first year was, at times, socially challenging, but she's found extracurricular activities that've helped.

For example, Carly is starting her second year on the junior varsity tennis team and is involved with student government. On May 21, Carly earned her high school varsity letter in tennis — making her the youngest ever in the district and Livingston County.

Last fall, Carly attended her first high school homecoming. In her words, Carly now feels like "just another student.”

“I think I’ve just gotten used to high school now,” Carly said.

“The district has bent over backwards for her with social and emotional support and peer-to-peer (help),” said Darcy, also the mother of twin 25-year-old women who work in the healthcare and entertainment sectors. “We’ve been on this great journey with Carly that so many people have been supportive of.”

Carly, who has a 3.97 GPA, attended Light of the World Montessori School before entering high school in January 2023. The previous fall, she and her mother took a “gap semester” backpacking and traveling around Europe. The experience gave Carly perspective.

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Carly plans to enroll in health occupations courses offered by the Livingston Educational Service Agency this fall. She and Darcy feel the experience will better position her for college, given her interest in the healthcare sector.

She also plans to take dual enrollment courses and will consider Advanced Placement courses, both of which can help Carly earn college credits now.

As perhaps the youngest high school sophomore Livingston County has ever seen, Carly has big plans. Following the completion of medical school in her early 20s, Carly might be interested in spending more time abroad, specifically in Ireland or New Zealand — but she might be just as happy building a career in Michigan.

‘I’m thinking about places where I want to live, but right now, it’s about what I’m doing in high school,” she said. “I’ll start there. I’m having fun.”

— M. Alan Scott is a freelance writer for The Livingston Daily. Contact the newsroom at newsroom@livingstondaily.com.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: There's a 12-year-old sophomore at Pinckney High, and she's got big plans