MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — Have you ever heard of Mensa?
It's a worldwide organization that brings together some of the smartest people on the planet for the benefit of humanity.
Getting in requires a high IQ, testing, and other hoops to jump through. One of Mensa's newest members is from right here in our area and he's just starting elementary school.
Owen Mitchell, 7, attends Middle Tennessee Christian School in Murfreesboro.
He loves a good joke.
"What do you call a sleeping dinosaur? A snore-asaurus," said Owen Mitchell, a 7-year-old who was recently accepted into Mensa.
According to teachers, that razor whit at a young age can be a sign of extremely high intelligence. Mitchell also clearly understands much more complex things.
"It's a nonneutonian fluid. So when you apply pressure it acts as a solid but when you stop applying pressure it acts as a liquid," Mitchell said.
On the playground, he tackles the slide just like the other first graders, but this kid just achieved a major accomplishment.
He was accepted into an organization reserved for the smartest people in the world, Mensa.
"We knew from a very early age that he was, something was different about him," said Amanda Mitchell, Owen's mother and a sixth-grade teacher at Middle Tennessee Christian School.
She saw some clues early on that Owen was special.
"Once he started talking he was using language that was well above his age level," Mitchell said.
While he excelled at difficult things early, he struggled with some of the more simple tasks.
"He could read, but like holding a pencil right, he just didn't. His brain had not processed that connection just right," Amanda Mitchell said.
To help Owen with all levels of tasks he spends time in Middle Tennessee Christian School's program for gifted and honors students.
It helps kids to navigate the pros and cons of high intelligence.
"Most of my students are very perfectionistic, so I have to teach them that it's okay to fail that's how we learn," said Dr. Heather Knox, gifted high abilities coordinator for Middle Tennessee Christian School.
The school was recently awarded a private grant to help pay for programs to help gifted and honors students, including a special camp offered on Saturdays.
That camp will also hold a session over the summer.
Owen works with Dr. Knox almost every day. The process of getting into Mensa was no easy feat, but it's opened a future with endless possibilities.
"It's either an astronaut, or it is a LEGO designer, or its Nascar driver, or its a fireman, it changes every day," said Amanda Mitchell.
According to Amanda Mitchell, one great benefit of being a Mensa member is having a community of other highly intelligent to people to help Owen navigate high intelligence at different ages.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
Shred the gnar with Patrick - the snowboarding lawyer that will remind you not to take things too seriously! His cheeky, cheerful attitude is contagious. His only complaint? The lack of chairlifts at the Tennessee State Capitol of course. Watch his story for an instant pick-me-up on a frigid day.
-Rebecca Schleicher
