15-year-old math whiz headed to Stanford University
A 15-year-old student in Cary is now planning a big move across the country.
His math skills, plus a lot of hard work, have earned him a scholarship at Stanford University.
Kenan Hasanaliyev is a standout student at Triangle Math and Science Academy.
In sixth grade, he was piling up math credits, placing him three grades ahead.
He didn't stop there. He mastered AP Calculus and then Calculus 2 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
“Before I knew it, I was taking graduate-level math classes,” Kenan said.
In his spare time, Kenan competes in math competitions.
After this school year, his math coach will have to find someone else to fill his spot as the 15-year-old heads to Stanford.
“It's a big challenge graduating early, but he was always a mature and responsible student,” said Mumin Karamisir, Kenan’s math coach.
Kenan knew his application to the elite school needed to be impressive.
“First of all, my SAT score was decent,” he said. “Those college classes definitely made my transcript pretty strong.”
He credits help from his teachers as well as his classmates, each of whom excel in STEM courses.
“You do feel the competitiveness, and that definitely like motivates you to get better,” Kenan said.
It's a friendly competition, he said, in which his classmates and teachers now cheer him on.
“It's great to know that one of our students is going Stanford,” Karamisir said.
Since Stanford is on the other side of the country — and because Kenan is not old enough to have a driver’s license — he said his parents will move out to California with him.
