‘He’s very, very intelligent’: 7-year-old becomes member of Mensa, international high IQ society

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS/Gray News) - There is a 7-year-old child in Newberry, South Carolina who is so smart that he became a member of a high IQ global society.

Jace Palmer recently became the newest member of Mensa, an international high IQ society with over 150,000 members globally. There are currently 164 members of Mensa in central South Carolina and the eastern counties of Georgia.

Jace attends Boundary Street Elementary School in Newberry County. His teacher said Jace has always been a brilliant kid.

From learning about short circuit boards to geography to botany, Jace said he loves to learn new things.

“Sometimes, I feel like he could teach the class,” Jace’s teacher said.

WIS spoke with Jace’s family about the accomplishment and the challenges children with high intelligence face.

His mother, Kristi, said kids like Jace are the kind of people who grow up to change the world. But, she doesn’t want him growing up just yet.

“We’re not here to try and grade-skip him, or have him graduate when he’s 12,” she said. “I want him to go to prom and have those life experiences because I want him to be a child.”

Jace’s parents said they noticed Jace’s fascination with learning early on, but it wasn’t until they got him tested that they realized just how smart he really was.

Kristi said she was nervous about getting him tested, as knowing how he scored could change his life.

“It was going to be an hour and a half long,” she said. “And, she called me after 40 minutes and said he was done. And, so I’m in the car thinking ‘Well, he didn’t do good, he didn’t do good.’”

“When we went to go and pick him up,” she continued. “She’s like ‘Are you okay?”, and I said ‘I have a knot in my stomach, did he not do good?’ And, she said ‘No, your intuition is correct, he’s very, very intelligent.’”

Jace said he wants to be a doctor because he wants people to stay healthy and take care of the earth. But right now, Jace said he’s fascinated with botany. He said his favorite is the aloe vera plant because of its healing properties.

As for the test he took last December, Jace said he was surprised by the results.

“When I finally found out what I got in it, I was actually really surprised I got into Mensa,” he said.

The Palmers said the state of South Carolina doesn’t have many programs for children with high intelligence, and it can be challenging for Jace to grow if he isn’t surrounded by like-minded individuals.

As for the future, the Palmers said staying in school is the most important thing for Jace.

WIS asked Jace where he wanted to go once he finished high school and he said he wants to stay local to Newberry and attend Newberry College.

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