Portuguese-American eighteen-year old breaks  record as youngest graduate at Columbia University

It was a perfect California day. Sunny. Seventy-something degrees with a slight brisk breeze. A letter arrived by mail to forever alter the trajectory of Karlee Roberts’ life. Roberts had spent a year in Los Angeles pursuing ambitions as an actress and was represented by a management, agent, and publicist. At just 14 years old, Roberts made the leap to Hollywood from New York, under the guardianship of her older sister, with her parents taking time off from work to hop back and forth from each coast. While her parents sacrificed emotionally and financially, allowing Roberts to take on this opportunity, they cut her a deal  — they would support any ambitions in the entertainment industry as long as she continued her education.

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