Sean Andrade graduating at age 15 as salutatorian at Sewanhaka High School
Sean Andrade is too young to drive and three years away from being able to vote, but the 15-year-old student will graduate from Sewanhaka High School in June as class salutatorian.
Andrade, who has a GPA of 103.78, is on point to speak to his graduating class of about 275 students. And come this fall, he likely will be among the youngest freshmen on a college campus.
"This started when I was very young," Andrade, of Elmont, said of his academic skills. "I learned to read when I was about 2. And from there, I've always been accelerating pretty far. I've always looked things up on my own."
Educators noticed early on that Andrade had exceptional skills, especially in math — and he later jumped grades twice. He was in elementary school at Stewart Manor, which is part of the Elmont district, when he skipped fourth grade. That school feeds into the Sewanhaka Central High School District, which serves grades seven through 12 and has five high schools. As a seventh-grader at Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park, Andrade earned 100s in every class and took Algebra I — before moving up again, skipping eighth grade.
"Already having some experience, it was pretty easy to make a plan for how to move forward," he said. "It was my parents who helped me get the schedule I needed and who told me, 'You can do this, you can push yourself as far as you need to go.' "
He credited school officials, too.
Sewanhaka schools psychologist Jeannine Bergen helped Andrade and his parents fit his schedule into an academic plan when he arrived as a 10-year-old seventh-grader.
"Knowing as soon as he walked in the door that we had a really exceptional student coming, [we had] to make sure that we nurtured his talents, his gifts, his skills so that he could really reach that level of exceptional that he is," Bergen said. "He's a very well-rounded kid. He's funny. He's creative. He's kind, and he's really the whole package."
The high school's assistant principal, Marc Isseks, has worked in education for nearly three decades and said he has never come across a student who jumped grades twice. "He's one of a kind," he said.
Pre-engineering teacher Jack Chen, who coaches the district's robotics team and has Andrade as a student, said he's exceptionally self-taught.
"What really sets him apart is that he's a self-learner," Chen said. "So, if he's interested in something, he'll go ahead and do all the research himself. He'll come to me with different questions. And I'll provide whatever guidance I can. At this point, he's been studying calculus on his own."
Andrade is considering Hofstra University and Stony Brook University for the fall, and plans to major in math. He'd like to become a college professor or work in research. He doesn't turn 16 until September, so he'd be a commuter student at Hofstra or likely live on campus at Stony Brook since he won't be old enough to drive.
He has received a presidential scholarship to Hofstra, a partial scholarship to Stony Brook and is awaiting other offers.
"I am a little nervous, especially for dorming away," Andrade said. "If I choose to do that, it's going to be harder than for most people. But academically, I feel pretty prepared. And it, overall, just feels normal. I am a senior. And next year, I'll be a college freshman."
He's currently enrolled in the pre-engineering program at the high school. He's a member of the National Honor Society, won back-to-back gold awards in a statewide math competition, plays the flute, and is self-studying computer science. He has tutored students older than him in algebra, and has tutored others in SAT math and science.
Andrade, the eldest of three brothers, had cerebral palsy at birth, a condition from which he's still impacted. He was born prematurely, said his mother, Kelly Andrade. He is autistic and is classified within the spectrum with pervasive developmental disorder, which gives him an ability to hyper-focus on one subject, such as math or robotics.
His parents learned he was gifted when he was only a toddler. At age 1½, "He started phonetically putting words together on his own," his mother said. His parents, however, are not computer scientists or mathematicians. His father, Lenin Andrade, is a master diagnostic technician for Toyota, and his mom is home raising the three boys. Much of what he learns is self-taught.
"He is pretty amazing," Kelly Andrade said. "When we go to visit the colleges, he speaks to the professors and you can see they are both excited, and that is awesome for us to watch."
Sean Andrade spends much of his time on the district's robotics team, the Robopandas, where he is the lead coder.
"He's one of the best robotics programmers on Long Island," Chen said.
The team is gearing up for the regional competition in Bethpage later this month.
"There's a lot of teamwork involved," Andrade said. "There's a lot of strategy involved … We have to connect with others in the STEM and the non-STEM community. And, so, I work on building community and making the Long Island robotics region stronger with code."
For the rest of the school year, Andrade is looking forward to the typical traditions that seniors enjoy. He plans to go to the prom, attend senior banquets and spend time with his peers.
He has started to think about what he is going to say in his graduation speech, including thanking Chen and the others who helped him along the way.
"This support that the school has given me — I don't think I would have been able to get that anywhere else," Andrade said.
Sean Andrade is too young to drive and three years away from being able to vote, but the 15-year-old student will graduate from Sewanhaka High School in June as class salutatorian.
Andrade, who has a GPA of 103.78, is on point to speak to his graduating class of about 275 students. And come this fall, he likely will be among the youngest freshmen on a college campus.
"This started when I was very young," Andrade, of Elmont, said of his academic skills. "I learned to read when I was about 2. And from there, I've always been accelerating pretty far. I've always looked things up on my own."
Educators noticed early on that Andrade had exceptional skills, especially in math — and he later jumped grades twice. He was in elementary school at Stewart Manor, which is part of the Elmont district, when he skipped fourth grade. That school feeds into the Sewanhaka Central High School District, which serves grades seven through 12 and has five high schools. As a seventh-grader at Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park, Andrade earned 100s in every class and took Algebra I — before moving up again, skipping eighth grade.
WHAT TO KNOW
- At age 15, Sean Andrade will graduate in June as salutatorian at Sewanhaka High School. His GPA is 103.78.
- Educators noticed early that Andrade had exceptional skills, especially in math — and he was moved ahead twice.
- Andrade is considering Hofstra and Stony Brook universities for college, with a major in math.
"Already having some experience, it was pretty easy to make a plan for how to move forward," he said. "It was my parents who helped me get the schedule I needed and who told me, 'You can do this, you can push yourself as far as you need to go.' "
He credited school officials, too.
Sewanhaka schools psychologist Jeannine Bergen helped Andrade and his parents fit his schedule into an academic plan when he arrived as a 10-year-old seventh-grader.
"Knowing as soon as he walked in the door that we had a really exceptional student coming, [we had] to make sure that we nurtured his talents, his gifts, his skills so that he could really reach that level of exceptional that he is," Bergen said. "He's a very well-rounded kid. He's funny. He's creative. He's kind, and he's really the whole package."
The high school's assistant principal, Marc Isseks, has worked in education for nearly three decades and said he has never come across a student who jumped grades twice. "He's one of a kind," he said.
Pre-engineering teacher Jack Chen, who coaches the district's robotics team and has Andrade as a student, said he's exceptionally self-taught.
"What really sets him apart is that he's a self-learner," Chen said. "So, if he's interested in something, he'll go ahead and do all the research himself. He'll come to me with different questions. And I'll provide whatever guidance I can. At this point, he's been studying calculus on his own."
Andrade is considering Hofstra University and Stony Brook University for the fall, and plans to major in math. He'd like to become a college professor or work in research. He doesn't turn 16 until September, so he'd be a commuter student at Hofstra or likely live on campus at Stony Brook since he won't be old enough to drive.
He has received a presidential scholarship to Hofstra, a partial scholarship to Stony Brook and is awaiting other offers.
"I am a little nervous, especially for dorming away," Andrade said. "If I choose to do that, it's going to be harder than for most people. But academically, I feel pretty prepared. And it, overall, just feels normal. I am a senior. And next year, I'll be a college freshman."
He's currently enrolled in the pre-engineering program at the high school. He's a member of the National Honor Society, won back-to-back gold awards in a statewide math competition, plays the flute, and is self-studying computer science. He has tutored students older than him in algebra, and has tutored others in SAT math and science.
Sean Andrade spends much of his time on his school district's robotics team, the Robopandas, where he is the lead coder. Credit: Kendall Rodriguez
Andrade, the eldest of three brothers, had cerebral palsy at birth, a condition from which he's still impacted. He was born prematurely, said his mother, Kelly Andrade. He is autistic and is classified within the spectrum with pervasive developmental disorder, which gives him an ability to hyper-focus on one subject, such as math or robotics.
His parents learned he was gifted when he was only a toddler. At age 1½, "He started phonetically putting words together on his own," his mother said. His parents, however, are not computer scientists or mathematicians. His father, Lenin Andrade, is a master diagnostic technician for Toyota, and his mom is home raising the three boys. Much of what he learns is self-taught.
"He is pretty amazing," Kelly Andrade said. "When we go to visit the colleges, he speaks to the professors and you can see they are both excited, and that is awesome for us to watch."
Sean Andrade spends much of his time on the district's robotics team, the Robopandas, where he is the lead coder.
"He's one of the best robotics programmers on Long Island," Chen said.
The team is gearing up for the regional competition in Bethpage later this month.
"There's a lot of teamwork involved," Andrade said. "There's a lot of strategy involved … We have to connect with others in the STEM and the non-STEM community. And, so, I work on building community and making the Long Island robotics region stronger with code."
For the rest of the school year, Andrade is looking forward to the typical traditions that seniors enjoy. He plans to go to the prom, attend senior banquets and spend time with his peers.
He has started to think about what he is going to say in his graduation speech, including thanking Chen and the others who helped him along the way.
"This support that the school has given me — I don't think I would have been able to get that anywhere else," Andrade said.
Joie Tyrrell is a Long Island native and covers education for Newsday, where she has worked since 1998.
