Drew Falkowitz is only 16 but is already a senior at the University of South Florida. He will become the youngest graduate in school history Friday.
“I don’t actually have my driver’s license yet,” Falkowitz said. “It’s definitely a little weird because I didn’t have a graduation ceremony for high school.”
Falkowitz also didn’t take any courses in a high school classroom.
“I had a pretty normal GPA in high school, you know, a couple of A’s, a couple of B’s there,” Falkowitz said.
Falkowitz was way ahead of kids his age and said he started high school at 9 years old.
“I don’t think I realized it. I think I just always was like this and then I was told later, oh, this isn’t normal,” Falkowitz said.
But it’s normal for him.
He did it all online and took classes that also counted toward college. Falkowitz couldn’t imagine being in a classroom with teenagers at that age.
“I would’ve totally never survived in a high school. I had no filter,” Falkowitz said.
The 16-year-old will now make history. University records show he’ll become the youngest person to ever graduate from USF.
He’ll earn a bachelor’s degree in cell and molecular biology. Next up, he’ll get a master’s focusing on cancer research, followed by a PhD.
“There are so many types of cancers. I’m working with just epithelial ovarian cancer and we might not even find a cure for that depending on the dynamics of how it works,” Falkowitz said.
One thing is for sure, his love for biology started it all, making him an example for others younger and older.
