Thenappan Chandrasekar, 19, of Plainsboro received his bachelor of science degree in life sciences from Eberly College of Science, Penn State University in December — just 18 months after graduating from High School North, Class of 2004. He graduated with distinction and was inducted into Phi Kappha Phi.##M:[more]##
Chandrasekar, who had entered an integrated BS/MD program, enters Jefferson Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia in the fall.
He started kindergarten at the usual age of five but took 10 advanced placement courses during the last two years of high school. He took a total of 12 AP exams. The advanced program required year-round studies of 18 credits in spring and fall semesters and 10 credits in each of the two summers.
He continues to take courses at Penn State as a non-degree graduate student and has been working as a research assistant in the Reddy Laboratory at Penn. He is also being trained to teach MCAT classes at the local Kaplan center.
“I like to stay involved in the local community so I volunteer a lot and belong to a few organizations,” he says. Chandrasekar is events chair of the Hindu Students Council at Penn State and an active volunteer at many of the Red Cross blood drives on campus. He is also a member and participant in United Way, Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society, Alpha Epsilon Delta Honors Society, and the Golden Key International Honor Society.
His father, Chandrasekar Meyyappan, is team leader at a financial firm. His mother, Lalitha Chandrasekar, is project manager at a telecommunications firm. His younger sister, Meena Chandraskear, is a sixth grade student at Community Middle School.
During his upcoming summer vacation, the first break since between his junior and senior high school years, he has plans to get a job in either New York or Philadelphia.
