By Shereen Dindar |
TORONTO – Mississauga, Ont. teen Alexandre D’Souza moved to Canada from India with his family last year, but by the time the child prodigy arrived in the multicultural suburb of Toronto, he had already earned the highest marks worldwide in English and mathematics in an international exam.
The Toronto Star recently profiled the 14-year-old Indo-Canadian youngster who will be heading to McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. — his first choice — for a double major in biological and chemical engineering.
The current acting dean of engineering at the university, says he can’t recall an admission of someone that young in the nearly 50 years he’s worked at the school.
“I don’t really like being judged by people by my age,” the modest D’Souza — described as tall, polite and friendly — tells the paper. “I’ve always been younger and had no problem socially.”
Also see: Job finder site caters exclusively to ‘beautiful people’
D’Souza has studied in Singapore and India, completed Grade 10 with distinction in all subjects, and by the time he was three, he had taught himself Arabic numbers.
His mother, Neomi, recalls her infant son sitting in front of the computer in diapers.
“We just couldn’t get him off it,” she tells the Toronto Star. “He soaked in the information.”
He spent hours using online education programs and playing Battle Chess, a chess videogame.
D’Souza is not the only teen prodigy in Ontario who has made headlines over the last year.
Also see: Comedian sues Jenny Craig after suffering from 1,000 gallstones and a miscarriage
Last summer, 14-year-old Jackie Peng from Richmond Hill became the second youngest player ever on Canada’s national chess team.
“She’s on a rampage,” Hal Bond, Canada’s delegate at the World Chess Federation, said at the time. “She’s one of our rising stars and it’s great to see.”
And in a less fortunate headline, an 18-year-old former Toronto piano prodigy, Thomas Bacsi, was deported back to Hungary last July with his family.
Basci was enrolled in a classical music program at the Royal Conservatory of Music and had received a prestigious scholarship from the school whose CEO vouched for Basci’s stay in Canada.
However, after a long battle with the government and four years in Canada, Basci was forced to leave.
Courtesy Shine On Blog
Comments are closed.