Pasadena Citizen - News
14-year-old to graduate from San Jacinto College
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| David Levy will graduate from San Jacinto College this December at the age of 14. |
San Jacinto College student David Levy began his journey at the college’s south campus at the age of 11, and will graduate this December with an Associate of Science in mathematics at the age of 14.
At an early age Levy was interested in math and was intrigued by his mother’s homework while she was attending San Jacinto College.
“I would see her crunching numbers on a calculator, and I said to myself, ‘This looks like some pretty fun stuff,’” said Levy.
Though Levy’s mother sparked his interest, his father has played a key role in his education.
“I make sure he makes it to all of his classes, but his dad is the one who has helped him with his studies,” said Susan Levy, David’s mother.
When Levy was just 9 years old, he was already taking calculus at Clear Lake Christian School, and had skipped both kindergarten and the fifth grade. After advancing so quickly, the next step for Levy was college.
With the help of Pam Campbell, dual-credit director at the San Jacinto College South campus, and good grades, Levy was able to begin taking classes at the college when he was 11. He started with only one course, but by the time he was 12 he began attending San Jacinto College full time.
At first, mathematics was difficult for Levy, but he had a goal and wasn’t going to back down.
“I got over it by telling myself I only have to learn this once,” added Levy.
A good example of Levy’s work ethic is when he competed in a gaming contest. He wanted to compete but didn’t know any of the programming languages, so he decided not to go.
“The day before the competition Mr. (Jim) Meeks (San Jacinto College information technology professor) brought me some books on the programming languages being covered at the contest. He told me to study them and come ready to compete the next day,” said Levy.
He went to the competition and took second place.
To gain his success, Levy said he works the problems and equations over and over again.
“I’ll do problems four or five times. The first few times are to make sure I know how to do it, and the last few times are to make sure I can do it fast enough,” said Levy.
Now Levy only has a few courses left at the college and has already began taking courses at the University of Houston, working toward a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
If Levy decides to pursue a second degree he thinks he might get a bachelor’s degree in computer programming.
“Possibly later I’ll get a Ph.D., in something related to the space industry,” added Levy.
When Levy enters the workforce, he’s hoping to work side-by-side with his father, who is an electrical engineer at Boeing.
“Not only are they father and son, but they’re very close friends,” said Susan Levy.
For more information about San Jacinto College, call 281-998-6150 or visit www.sanjac.edu.
At an early age Levy was interested in math and was intrigued by his mother’s homework while she was attending San Jacinto College.
“I would see her crunching numbers on a calculator, and I said to myself, ‘This looks like some pretty fun stuff,’” said Levy.
Though Levy’s mother sparked his interest, his father has played a key role in his education.
“I make sure he makes it to all of his classes, but his dad is the one who has helped him with his studies,” said Susan Levy, David’s mother.
When Levy was just 9 years old, he was already taking calculus at Clear Lake Christian School, and had skipped both kindergarten and the fifth grade. After advancing so quickly, the next step for Levy was college.
With the help of Pam Campbell, dual-credit director at the San Jacinto College South campus, and good grades, Levy was able to begin taking classes at the college when he was 11. He started with only one course, but by the time he was 12 he began attending San Jacinto College full time.
At first, mathematics was difficult for Levy, but he had a goal and wasn’t going to back down.
“I got over it by telling myself I only have to learn this once,” added Levy.
A good example of Levy’s work ethic is when he competed in a gaming contest. He wanted to compete but didn’t know any of the programming languages, so he decided not to go.
“The day before the competition Mr. (Jim) Meeks (San Jacinto College information technology professor) brought me some books on the programming languages being covered at the contest. He told me to study them and come ready to compete the next day,” said Levy.
He went to the competition and took second place.
To gain his success, Levy said he works the problems and equations over and over again.
“I’ll do problems four or five times. The first few times are to make sure I know how to do it, and the last few times are to make sure I can do it fast enough,” said Levy.
Now Levy only has a few courses left at the college and has already began taking courses at the University of Houston, working toward a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
If Levy decides to pursue a second degree he thinks he might get a bachelor’s degree in computer programming.
“Possibly later I’ll get a Ph.D., in something related to the space industry,” added Levy.
When Levy enters the workforce, he’s hoping to work side-by-side with his father, who is an electrical engineer at Boeing.
“Not only are they father and son, but they’re very close friends,” said Susan Levy.
For more information about San Jacinto College, call 281-998-6150 or visit www.sanjac.edu.
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