When the University of Alaska Anchorage holds its commencement ceremony May 3, it will celebrate a young woman who is likely its youngest-ever graduate.
At 17 years old, Rainey Spurlock holds that distinction, going back at least to 1997. (A university spokesperson says they don't have access to records before that).
Spurlock, who hails from Palmer, is no stranger to the spotlight: She's worked as a child actor and produces music under the name Rainey Laine. She's also set to deliver UAA's undergraduate commencement speech at the May 3 ceremony.
Despite her accomplishments, Spurlock says, it's not all about her.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Rainey Spurlock: I really had to figure out a balance. I don't want it to be all about me, like, I don't want to talk about how cool this accomplishment is, because I don't want people to look at that and say, "Oh, well, now I don't feel as good about my accomplishment," which I think people too often do.
And so when I was thinking about that, I want to incorporate that in my speech, like not comparing your path to other people's. And so my introduction is just kind of talking about my grandma and I's journey, and then kind of giving it back to the audience, like every single person here has had a different path, has done, has gone through a different stage of life, and we've all made it to this moment together, like we've all accomplished something that took so much bravery and effort.
And, you know, being comfortable failing and being comfortable learning, it takes a lot of bravery to learn, because you have to be comfortable not immediately understanding a concept, and that is actually really hard for a lot of people. And so it's really impressive, I think, to have graduated.
Casey Grove: Yeah, I mean, obviously it's different that you're 17, you're about to graduate from college. When I was your age, I was just, like, barely trying to make it out of high school.
How were you able to accomplish that? Like, how were you able to get through high school and now college so quickly? And then also, why? I mean, why would you want to? Are there things about that that you just wanted to get through it quicker? But I guess starting just with, how did you do that?
RS: So it's actually pretty interesting. So I started going to college when I was 13. I couldn't enroll in the (Mat-Su) Middle College, because you have to be 16 to go to Middle College, and you have to be at least either in the Middle College or 18 to be on the college campus, unless you're with your legal guardian.
And so I went, and so far, have gone to, every single class with my grandma, except for, like, a handful of online classes. So she has taken the classes with me and been in the class alongside me so that I would be able to be there legally. So I graduated at 15 from my high school, and now I'm graduating at 17 from college, and it's all because of my awesome grandma being able to go with me and support me.
But why do I do it? Now, that's really funny, you ask, because I have, like, a whole plethora of reasons, but the main one is that I want freedom. Like I feel like everyone has a core value, and mine is freedom, and that applies financially or just being able to do what I want. And I feel like there's a freedom to also having an education and being educated. I also like to know what I'm talking about. I want to be an educated person.
CG: Well, so, tell me about your music. How would you describe it, and what do you like about making music?
RS: I've made about, I think, 10 songs so far, 10 singles, that are all really amazing, and I think the way to encapsulate them is they're all very different. But I basically am trying to capture what it's like to be a teenager, like it's OK to be, you know, to be angry, and it's okay to be happy and it's okay to be sad, and I'm trying to capture all these, like, kind of complex situations.
One of my songs, "Plato's Daughter," is about my boyfriend. His mom passed away, and it's about how, when someone you love has something horrible happen to them, there's nothing you can do to fix it. You can't say anything that's going to fix it. There's nothing to do. It's like this horrible feeling of, you love someone and you want to help them, but there's no way to you can't fix the problem, you know?
And then "Gemini," which is my song, it's about to come out May 3, it's about the feeling of absolutely hating someone, but you can't say that you hate them, because they're friends with all of your friends, right? So it's kind of this mix of, like, I'm trying to capture these kind of specific scenarios that could still apply. I want my music to really connect with people. I want them to be like, "Wow, that's actually really relatable." And I think too often that people kind of sugar coat how they feel. And I don't want to be like that, you know?
CG: Yeah. Definitely. It strikes me, like, in some ways, you're growing up pretty quickly, like you're doing the educational part, you know, faster than like most people do. But as you were describing your music, I was thinking, in a lot of ways, we all live those years, regardless of how fast different tracks of your life are going. Do you feel like trying to capture those things, you know what it's like to be a teenager? Is it kind of holding on to that in a way where, like other parts of your life are maybe going off quicker?
RS: It really is. It's actually really hard for me to connect with my peers. I have a lot of friends, but it's like, I have a hard time connecting, because it's like, "Oh man, this two-page paper I'm writing is really killing me." And I'm like, "Oh, that makes sense." And they're like, "What are you working on?" "Oh, well, I just finished a 75-page project for my master's program, you know?
And I don't want to, I never, ever, ever want to make people feel less than or feel like I'm flexing or saying that I'm better than you. I don't want to be that kind of person. I actually don't really like to talk about myself that much. But obviously for my music I have to kind of leverage myself.
It is definitely hard. And I think, in a way, yeah, I am kind of holding on to that. I want to be, I am, a teenager, but I'm also very mature, and I've gone through life. I mean, I had a job at like, seven years old, acting, like being on set. I had to be very focused, and I had to take direction perfectly and listen and be calm and, you know, be moldable to all of these things and not take rejection, not be upset, like, to deal with (it). I mean, the acting industry is really not good. I've also written a song about that, but it is definitely a very complex industry, and I had to be very on the ball. So I have grown up really fast. But I, in a way, I'm kind of holding on to that teenage emotion, because I am a teenager, you know?
CG: Another thing, and I wanted to ask you about this in particular, because we talk a lot about it, is the use of artificial intelligence. And, you know, your generation is the first one, basically, that's growing up with that very powerful, but also very fraught, tool at your fingertips. What's that like? And do you think that that is taking away from, you know, the education of other teenagers?
RS: Oh my gosh, it absolutely is. The thing is, I don't think that teenagers should use AI. I'm a little bit different, because I'm in college and sometimes for projects it's encouraged, like in my master's program. But I really, truly do not think that high schoolers should be using AI, because high school is where you get that foundation of learning. You learn how to do these topics at the most basic level. And I think that if high schoolers and teenagers are using AI, it completely takes away from that ability, because it is true that once you use it, you become reliant on it. Like once you've kind of lost that ability, it really it's hard to get that back.
And I've seen it in my program, in my college classes with grown adults, where they have this presentation, and then the teacher asks them about it, and they cannot explain where they're coming from. And I think that is a huge problem. I mean, I'm not 100% sure on my opinion on AI, but I do feel very strongly that teenagers and kids should not be using that or abusing that, because it's not healthy.
CG: Yeah, lately I've just really wanted to ask somebody your age that question, so thank you.
And I should ask, too. what has your experience been like going to the University of Alaska Anchorage, and especially finishing up these higher-level classes that you're doing?
RS: It's been awesome. I mean, in my first couple years, I was going to, like, Mat-Su (Middle College) to take a lot of my classes, because it's closer to home. So a lot of the students there are teenagers like me, like 16. I mean, I was 13, right? But it was still, they're like, 16,17, that's pretty close to my age.
But as I got into my 300-, 400-level classes, it was all adults, which was different for me. I had to be comfortable communicating with adults and saying, like, "Hey, this is my opinion" and having open conversations. And I think my grandma helped me a lot with that, like feeling confident.
And now in my master's program, I had a friend of a friend say, "Oh, is it hard for you? Like, do they discredit you? Or maybe not have you do as much of group projects, because they underestimate you a little bit?" And I was like, "Um, no, quite the opposite." I do all the work in the group projects for these 30- and 40-year-olds. And they're like, "Oh, we're gonna have Rainey make the PowerPoint presentation. We're gonna have Rainey help us write the document."
I don't try to prove myself. That's just kind of how I am. Like, I really want things to get done. But it has been weird, like, I have not had the typical college experience. I mean, I don't have college friends, because that would be weird, right? I said to a person in the class I'm taking, we're kind of friends, and I was like, "Hey, we should make plans about something that I could do." And he's like, "Oh, wait, no, never mind everybody. Let's not go to the bar. Let's go to Chucky Cheese." And it's just funny.
CG: That could be fun.
RS: It could, but it's very, it's different. It's not the typical experience. And I'm OK with that.
