Afte
Sta ti g
His
JD
at
Fiftee ,
Eightee -Yea -Old
Loyola
Law
Stude t
G aduates
i
May
At
a
age
whe
most
tee age s
a e
p epa i g
fo
high
school
fi al
exams
o
applyi g
to
u de g aduate
p og ams,
18-yea -old
James
“Jimmy”
Chilimig as
has
g aduated
with
a
Ju is
Docto
deg ee
f om
Loyola
U ive sity
New
O lea s
College
of
Law.The
Bay
St.
Louis,
Mississippi,
ative
g aduated
with
highest
ho ou s,
fi ishi g
i
the
top
two
pe ce t
of
his
class
a d
ea i g
the
highest
g ade
i
mo e
tha
40
pe ce t
of
his
cou ses.U ive sity
officials
believe
Chilimig as
may
be
the
you gest
pe so
eve
to
g aduate
f om
a
law
school
i
Louisia a,
a
state
that
joi ed
the
U ited
States
i
1812.Acco di g
to
a
stateme t
f om
Loyola
U ive sity
New
O lea s,
Chilimig as
completed
his
deg ee
with
five
ce tificates
of
co ce t atio :
taxatio
law,
social
justice,
immig atio
a d
citize ship
law,
i te atio al
legal
studies,
a d
tech ology
a d
e t ep e eu ship.
School
officials
believe
this
combi atio
is
u matched
i
the
histo y
of
the
law
school,
which
was
fou ded
i
1914.“Sta ti g
at
Loyola,
I
had
o
idea
what
to
expect,”
Chilimig as
said
i
the
u ive sity’s
stateme t.
“Faculty
a d
fellow
stude ts
go
out
of
thei
way
he e
to
welcome
a d
emb ace
eve yo e.
This
atmosphe e
builds
cha acte
so
the
i te se
academia
does ’t
ove whelm
you
o
cause
bu out.
The
classes
a e
difficult
but
fai .
The
cultu e
is
welcomi g
but
igo ous.
It’s
like
a
tough-love
f ie d
who’s
u comp omisi g
about
you
becomi g
the
best
ve sio
of
you self.”
Ea ly
sig s
of
academic
tale t
Chilimig as
is
the
oldest
of
seve
child e
aised
by
Joh
a d
E i
Chilimig as
i
coastal
Mississippi.
Acco di g
to
his
pa e ts,
he
showed
adva ced
la guage
skills
at
just
two
yea s
old,
speaki g
i
complete
se te ces.His
academic
jou ey
moved
quickly.
He
ea ed
his
high
school
diploma
f om
St.
Joh
Paul
the
G eat
i
Bay
St.
Louis
at
age
12.I stead
of
atte di g
a
t aditio al
u ive sity
as
a
you g
tee age ,
Chilimig as
e olled
at
Weste
Gove o s
U ive sity,
a
o li e
o p ofit
i stitutio .
By
age
15,
he
had
completed
both
a
bachelo ’s
deg ee
a d
a
maste ’s
deg ee
i
accou ti g.Soo
afte
fi ishi g
his
postg aduate
accou ti g
studies,
he
passed
the
p ofessio al
exams
to
become
what
is
widely
ega ded
as
the
you gest
Ce tified
Public
Accou ta t
(CPA)
i
the
wo ld.Whe
he
tu ed
to
law
i
2023,
he
sco ed
174
out
of
180
o
the
Law
School
Admissio
Test
(LSAT).
Loyola
U ive sity
said
the
sco e
was
the
highest
eco ded
ac oss
Mississippi,
Alabama,
a d
Louisia a.
Class oom
leade ship
a d
legal
p actice
Chilimig as
bega
studyi g
at
Loyola
U ive sity
New
O lea s
College
of
Law
i
fall
2023,
whe
he
was
15.Du i g
his
th ee
yea s
at
the
law
school,
he
combi ed
his
studies
with
seve al
leade ship
oles.
He
se ved
o
the
Loyola
Law
Review,
wo ked
as
a
teachi g
assista t,
a d
ep ese ted
the
u ive sity
as
both
a
coach
a d
competito
o
the
ABA
Natio al
Moot
Cou t
Team.I
his
fi al
yea ,
Chilimig as
became
a
Rule
XX
Stude t
P actitio e
i
Loyola’s
Stua t
H.
Smith
Law
Cli ic.
I
that
ole,
he
ep ese ted
clie ts
i
active
immig atio
cases.“Jimmy
has
made
a
ext ao di a y
impact
o
ou
school,”
said
Dea
Madelei e
La d ieu
i
the
u ive sity
stateme t.
“He’s
ki d,
sma t,
a d
exudes
a
level
of
matu ity
that
belies
his
age.
His
classmates
have
ca ed
fo
a d
p otected
him,
a d
they
have
lea ed
f om
a d
admi ed
him.”La d ieu
also
said
that
Chilimig as’s
g a dfathe ,
a
g aduate
of
Det oit
Me cy
Law,
d ove
him
to
his
fi al
exam.
She
exp essed
app eciatio
fo
the
suppo tive
e vi o me t
the
u ive sity
p ovided
du i g
his
studies.
Global
eco ds
a d
futu e
studies
Acco di g
to
histo ical
eco ds
compiled
by
the
cultu e
a d
histo y
website
Oldest.o g,
Chilimig as
is
amo g
the
you gest
people
i
the
wo ld
to
ea
a
law
deg ee.The
site
lists
Stephe
Baccus
of
Flo ida
as
the
you gest
k ow
law
g aduate.
He
ea ed
his
Ju is
Docto
at
age
16
i
1986
a d
late
became
a
eu obiology
p ofesso .
Gab ielle
Tu quest
of
Flo ida
ea ed
he
deg ee
at
17
i
2013
a d
late
became
the
you gest
ba iste
i
the
U ited
Ki gdom
i
six
ce tu ies
at
age
18.
Jozef
E ece
of
the
Philippi es
ea ed
his
law
deg ee
at
age
18
i
2015.Afte
Loyola’s
comme ceme t
ce emo y
o
May
9,
a
u ive sity
spokespe so
co fi med
that
Chilimig as
took
a
family
vacatio
befo e
p epa i g
fo
his
ext
academic
p og am.He
will
move
to
Chicago
to
study
fo
a
Maste
of
Laws
(LLM)
i
taxatio
at
No thweste
U ive sity
P itzke
School
of
Law.
This
will
be
the
fi st
time
Chilimig as
has
lived
outside
his
home
state
of
Mississippi
a d
could
allow
him
to
ea
his
fou th
highe -educatio
deg ee
befo e
tu i g
20.
