Whiz Kid of the Week: Jeffrey Chen

Each week Winchester Patch will select a . This week, we chose Jeffrey Chen, a 17-year-old senior at Chen is a whiz with computers and robotics who has already been accepted into Cal Tech, but he’s waiting to hear back from MIT and Harvard.

Whiz Kid's Names: Jeffrey Chen, 17

Whiz Kid's School/Church/Community Center: Winchester High School

Whiz Kid's Accomplishment: Chen has had a number of accomplishments over the years from interning at NASA to taking advanced Math classes at MIT. Here is a list of his accomplishments:

• PROMYS Program (intensive math classes at BU)
• NASA Inspire (engineering research)
• MIT Summer Course (one of two students to receive an A+)
• Math Team (Finished in 3^rd place at New England Math meet)
• Robotics Team (Finished 4^th in the BotsIQ National Robotics Tournament)
• National and Spanish Honors Society
• Violinist on the Massachusetts All-State orchestra

Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness: Chen credits his success to being able to manage his time well. “I’m able to get my homework done fast, so that allows me to focus on all this other stuff," he said.

He also said that his parents have helped key his success, as they encouraged him to try different activities, even if he was apprehensive at first. “My parents are really supportive in my pursuits,” Chen said. “They allow me to do whatever I want. They have high expectations and really encourage me to do well.”

But Chen did want to make one important distinction.

“I just want to say that my parents are definitely not like ‘Tiger Mom,’” he said. “They have real high expectations and they push me, but they also give me a lot of freedom. I’m allowed to have play dates.”