He couldn’t speak as a child. Now this autistic student is giving a commencement address.
When Bruno Youn was 3 years old, his mother noticed something was off about her firstborn son. He could parrot what he heard. He could remember and recite poetry. But he could not string together words to communicate his own thoughts.
She brought him in for testing and learned the truth: He had autism.
Josette Thompson, a Seal Beach physician said she was having trouble coping with the idea. She worried he would never talk, never have a job. Never get married.
This Saturday, Bruno Youn, now 22 years old, will walk across the stage to receive his diploma at Claremont McKenna College. But before he does, he will stand before an audience of hundreds and do what his senior class elected him to do: deliver the student commencement remarks.
He majored in philosophy, politics and economics, and will graduate with Phi Beta Kappa honors and a 3.8 GPA. He worked on policy research at Claremont McKenna’s Rose Institute of State and Local Government. He was selected for a prestigious post as one of two student fellows to host and moderate panel discussions with high-profile figures for the college’s Athenaeum speakers program.
He has worked with political campaigns. He has had a girlfriend and made lots of friends.
Youn’s mother said she is thrilled by how much he has thrived in college. And remembers the day she worried about her son’s future. She says her dream now for her son is that he will be an icon and trailblazer for people with autism who don’t know what their future will be like.