Whiz Kid: Ian Carroll

Whiz Kid: Ian Carroll

Year: Recent graduate of

Age: 17

Accomplishment: In high school, Ian Carroll made high honor roll every semester, achieved AP Scholar status and won the science award, faculty award and outstanding performance award for his performance in the musical "The Drowsy Chaperone," and at his graduation ceremony. Then there are his leadership roles as team captain of the cross country and track teams, president of the Germanic Culture Club, and peer counselor leader — just to name a few.

Carroll’s hard work and many talents earned him a spot in the fall as a Lerman-Neubauer Fellowship Program Scholar at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. This program recognizes students with distinguished academic records who have great potential for success in a specific field and have shown the ability to conduct research. 

Brandeis’ admissions faculty chose Carroll and around nine other incoming freshmen for the very competitive program. Fellows receive a stipend to conduct a summer-long research project or internship, as well as access to seminars and academically geared trips and workshops.

Lerman-Neubauer Fellows complete a capstone project during their senior year with a faculty member who serves as a mentor. 

Carroll believes his teachers led him to be successful by spending one-on-one time with him. He also credits his voracious reading habits.

"The most important experience that I have ever and will ever have is the simple joy coming from my books. Even though this is not a single experience and it happens countless times to fathomless amounts of people, it is responsible for so much that happens to people," he said.

"Reading to me is a gateway into another world, life, or even simply another viewpoint."