UNT Dallas celebrates youngest master's program graduate in school history

18-year-old gets master's degree from UNT Dallas

A North Texas teen has become the youngest-ever graduate of UNT Dallas, and she has plans for much more. FOX 4's Shaun Rabb has more.

DALLAS - A North Texas teen has made history as the youngest-ever master's program graduate from UNT Dallas.

History made at UNT Dallas

What they're saying:

"It's honestly surreal being able to be in this position," 18-year-old Hana Taylor Schlitz tells FOX 4's Shaun Rabb.

Schlitz graduated from UNT Dallas with a master's degree in public leadership and administration on Tuesday, becoming the youngest-ever master's program graduate in the school's history.

She tells Rabb that she's accepted a summer internship at Dallas Love Field in Aviation Emergency Management and Communications.

Hana Taylor Schlitz

Another piece of history

It's not the first time Schlitz has made history as an unusually young college graduate.

In 2024, at the age of 16, Schlitz became the youngest-ever person to receive an undergraduate degree from Texas Women's University.

She broke a record set by none other than her older sister Haley, who graduated from TWU in 2019 at 16 years and 9 months old. Her brother Ian graduated from high school at 12-years-old.

Family connection

Schlitz was adopted from Ethiopia in 2008. Her birth mother died from tuberculosis, a disease that nearly claimed Hana's life too.

"Luckily, I was adopted by an amazing family," Hana said. "My mother made sure that I got the care that I needed."

She says she's inspired by her family's success to pursue her own. 

"My sister and my brother are doing their own amazing accomplishments," Hana said. "My brother is actually at UNT geting his PHD. So it's just been amazing being around these people and this family."

What's next:

Schlitz plans on getting her doctorate degree, hoping to pursue a career in emergency disaster management or disaster science. She wants to help people in the way that she received help as an infant.

"The system made it possible for me to be here, and I want to make it possible for others to get the help that they need to make themselves a story — a shining light for their own people," Hana said.

She hopes her impact on the world is helping people understand they're not defined by problems with their upbringings.

"I didn't let tuberculosis or my mother's passing define me. I used it as motivation to get where I am today."