By the time of his graduation at the age of fifteen, Sumner was regarded by his teachers as one of their smartest students. “I used to look at him with wonder as I heard him talk on subjects I knew nothing of,” a classmate recalled with astonishment. Although Sumner did not receive particularly high grades—probably because he was focused on reading what he wanted to read, rather than his assignments—he was honored along with a classmate to deliver the closing speech at commencement to several notable guests, which included President John Quincy Adams.
