A young boy from Hawaii enters prestigious Mensa Society for intellectuals

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – In many ways, his parents say little Kaleo Kekuewa-Kwon is your typical kid – a bundle of energy packed into a five-year-old’s body.

But there’s so much more to him than meets the eye.

“He’s really thoughtful for his age,” said his dad, Sebastian Kwon. “He has a lot of emotional intelligence, I guess you would say.”

That intelligence showed up very early. Around his first birthday, Kaleo began recognizing letters of the alphabet. By the time he was four, he had taught himself how to read.

As for numbers and math, he’s a walking, talking calculator.

“One plus one is 2, two plus two is four, four plus four is eight, eight plus eight is 16, 16 plus 16 is 32, 32 plus 32 is 64, 64 plus 64 is 128, 128 plus 128 is 256,” Kaleo said.

His parents knew they had a bright child on their hands, especially when he started helping his older brothers with their homework. They recently had him tested with an IQ exam measuring preschoolers’ cognitive development.

“For him, it was just a fun play day. But when we got the results back, we were so shocked at how well he did,” his mom, Mailani Kekuewa, said.

“We knew he was smart. But we didn’t know he was that smart,” Sebastian said.

His scores were so off the charts that Kaleo was accepted into Mensa, the oldest and largest society for the world’s elite intellectuals. He is one of Mensa’s youngest members.

“That test was a piece of cake,” Kaleo said.

Apparently, it was. He completed his IQ tests in about 60 minutes. It usually takes several hours.

Now, Kaleo will participate in Mensa’s program for kids with high IQs.

“We just really think that it’s going to continue to broaden his network and challenge him and give him the resources he needs to continue to excel,” Mailani said.

Kaleo wants to be a scientist when he grows up, but first comes kindergarten.

“He’s excited to start kindergarten,” Mailani said. “He’s tried to keep busy all summer long. He just started piano a couple of weeks ago. He kept busy with Taekwondo. He’s definitely ready.”

Kaleo’s also learning hula, how to play the ukulele, and how to speak Hawaiian.

He’ll fit right in when the family moves back to the islands from Washington, D.C., in a couple of years, right after his dad retires from the Air Force.

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