Math Whiz Knows What to Do: Graduate Fast

December 8, 2008

David Levy, only 14, is a confident young Texan. He will graduate from San Jacinto College at the end of 2008 with an Associate of Science degree in mathematics. He is also taking courses at the University of Houston, working toward a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.

Moreover, Levy is considering seeking a second bachelor's degree, in computer programming. “Possibly later I'll get a Ph.D., in something related to the space industry,” he figured. That might allow him to work alongside his father, an electrical engineer at Boeing.

“Not only are they father and son, but they're very close friends,” his mother Susan observed.

His mother, however, was the catalyst for David's interest in mathematics. He had been intrigued by her mathematics homework when she had been a student at San Jacinto College. She had been "crunching numbers on a calculator," Levy recalled. He put two and two together. "This looks like some pretty fun stuff," he concluded.

David's approach to mathematics since then has been to do problems multiple times. "The first few times are to make sure I know how to do it,” he said, “and the last few times are to make sure I can do it fast enough.”

David Levy is fast and on a fast track, in and outside of mathematics, for sure!

Source: San Jacinto College, Houston, Nov. 18, 2008.