Caleb Anderson, 12, has just become the youngest person admitted to Georiga Tech. He plans to major in aerospace engineering, with an enrollement date that could come as early as next fall. In the future, he hopes to become the first person to visit Mars.
Caleb is currently enrolled in high school in his hometown Atlanta and is taking courses at Chattahoochee Tech. He toured Georgia Tech in October, where he was introduced to the labs and Ángel Cabrera, the university’s president, CBS reports.
“He’s a perfect candidate to come into our program and be very successful,” Professor Mark Costello, chair of Georgia Tech’s School of Aerospace Engineering, told CBS.
Not long after his admission at Georgia Tech, a rep from the Steve & Marjorie Harvey Foundation — a charitable organization established by comedian and TV host Steve Harvey — reached out to the Anderson family, offering to fund his remaining semesters at Chattahoochee.
While Caleb says in an interview with CBS that he’s “not really that smart” and he “just grasp[s] information quickly,” his mother, Claire, noticed Caleb was gifted when he was an infant.
“We noticed Caleb had special talents at around three weeks old,” Caleb’s mother Claire tells We Rep STEM.
That’s when he began to try and mimic her words.
“I was privileged enough to stay home with Caleb and teach him sign language, numbers, and phonics,” she says.
Caleb was able to communicate 250 words using sign language by nine months old and he was reading the constitution and doing fractions by age two, Claire says. He joined MENSA at age five.
Caleb’s long-term plan is to get his Master’s at Georgia Tech, intern with Elon Musk, and get his Ph.D. at MIT.
He tells We Rep STEM he’s interested in space because of its potential.
“Space has so many possibilities and also a lot of untapped resources,” he says.
“Earth resources are limited, especially with climate change. Space can offer the solution for some of the earth’s pressing problems.”
And what advice does he have for students who are interested in STEM but struggling with the lessons?
“My advice is don’t give up. Failure is the best teacher,” he tells We Rep STEM.
“Just because you are not doing well in a particular subject doesn’t mean it is not your thing. There are plenty of variables, that specific information, the teacher, the environment. If anyone tries to tell you that you can’t, remember: it is a reflection of them, not you.”
He says we shouldn’t accept the notion that things “shouldn’t be done.”
“A 6-month-old should not read, a 12 year-old should not be a sophomore in college,” he says.
“Man should not be flying or walk on the moon, women should not be vice president, but look: We are doing it, and you can too.
Source: werepstem
