"I was not home when this happened..."
Being a single dad isn’t easy, but raising an 11-year-old college graduate as a single dad — that deserves a round of applause.
That’s especially true for Rafael Perales, a single dad who left his career as a trial attorney to ensure his daughter had everything she needed to succeed.
And succeed, she did.
RELATED: Expert parenting advice for supporting teens through the college admissions process
Perales’ daughter Alisa was just one year old when he left his job to prioritize her life and education, according to CNBC.
Now 10 years later, Alisa has already earned two associate degrees in mathematics and general science from Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa, California — which she completed in May, per Fox News.
According to Crafton, she finished with a GPA close to 4.0 and was one semester away from earning two additional associate degrees.
“When I first started at Crafton [at the age of 8], I was a little bit nervous…because this was my first time going to a public school,” she told Crafton in May.
“I credit my dad for pushing me to do well in school and try my best to work hard,” she added.
But she’s not done yet.
The now-11-year-old has plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science when she attends the University of California, Riverside this fall, per CNBC.
When CNBC asked Perales how he managed to do the impossible, he shared his three-word secret with single dads and parents everywhere.
“Kids come first,” he told the outlet.
“She comes before everything, including myself. I’m pretty far down the list of important things,” he added.
According to the Single Parent Project, Alisa is one of about three million children under the age of 18 that are living with single dads.
But she’s likely one of the few (if not the only) one to receive a college degree before entering her teens.
While Perales admitted to struggling financially at times due to his career sacrifice, he never faltered in his mission and always kept his daughter’s future at the forefront of his decision.
“I always had confidence that I would find a way to make it, no matter what,” he told CNBC.
From homeschooling to active parenting, Perales is a one-of-a-kind single dad
In his interview with CNBC, published Aug. 17, Perales opened up about his daughter’s homeschooling and the many ways he fostered a positive environment for her to learn in.
He chose online teaching guides that catered to her interests and helped his daughter establish a regular routine at an early age.
That routine included eight hours of schoolwork, five days per week, according to CNBC.
But it also included weekly trips to Disneyland, which he used as a “release valve” to give Alisa something to look forward to. And he often took her on vacations, which doubled as learning experiences for the duo.
“She was doing so well, I wanted to keep rewarding her and have her look forward to every week as something new and a lot of fun that's coming up,” he told People in an interview published in May.
“We weren’t really too different [from a public school] in the amount of studying we were doing. But we were definitely, I think, being more productive,” he told CNBC.
In a world full of many different parenting styles, Perales leaned on his role as an active parent to ensure he prioritized quality time with Alisa — and did his best to avoid overworking his daughter.
So, what’s next for Alisa? According to Perales, she hopes to help Elon Musk in his mission to colonize Mars.
“She wants to go into space,” he told People in May. “She wants to drag me out there, too."
As for Perales, he says he might one day return to a normal 9-to-5 job — but not yet.
ALSO ON MOD MOMS CLUB: Joanna Gaines shares emotional photo as her and Chip Gaines’ daughter heads off to college
“When people ask: ‘Are you going back to work?’ [I say], ‘Yeah, I might slow down and relax and do something like a 9-to-5 again someday.’ But, not now,” he told CNBC.
