by Katie Vasquez
Joe Petraro is enjoying the summer while he can,on the surface he looks like a regular 11-year-old, interested in basketball and video games. Unlike other 11-year-olds, he isn’t getting ready for middle school, he’s going to college this fall.
“It was easy,” said Petraro.
It all started a few years ago, Joe was attending Holy Name of Mary School in Valley Stream, he was struggling, almost put in special education until he was diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome, a neurological disorder that can cause uncontrolled rapid movements and vocal sounds.
“I’ll be thinking about something and then I’ll be like, okay doing that. all right, all right. and that would take a while, cause then like, I would tighten up the hand like my arms,” said Petraro.
The school soon realized Joe was actually a genius, with an IQ of 168. He would go on to graduate middle school and high school in two years.
“Yeah. I can’t believe it. I’m proud of him. I just can’t believe it. That’s like I’m still dreaming,” said Ozzie Petraro, Joe’s Father.
While school was easy for Joe, life outside the classroom was not.
Having Tourettes made him a target for bullies, but the altar server at St Joseph church in Hewlett says his time in mass helped him during dark times.
“It would just calm me down and like, it always takes my mind off of everything,” said Petraro.
Joe knows studying isn’t the only thing that got him into Louisiana State University.
“I think the guiding force is God, because if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t know,” said Petraro, “that I’m smarter or like, meet all these good people.”
Joe plans to study sports leadership, attending classes fully remote, ith the dream of being a sports broadcaster.