By Emily Drooby
Brandon Park is a talented student, and he has the award to prove it. It all started with a test.
“And a little while after, my mom told me I got the highest honor,” Brandon told Currents News.
That highest honor, called “grand honors,” was given by the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth during this year’s talent search.
But the award was not a shock for his teachers at St. Andrew Avellino Catholic Academy in Flushing, Queens.
Brandon was up against 15,000 students from seven grades across the country, Puerto Rico and more. He earned the award by scoring in the top nine percent of students. He won a medal, bragging rights and access to a special program.
“With the award came entrance to John Hopkins summer school,” he explained. “I think it’ll really help me.”
The sixth grader and his mom both credit his time at St. Andrew Avellino for the win.
“The teachers take time to get to know us, and they take time to make sure we really understand the subject,” said Brandon.
But Kevin Monahan, his teacher, credits Brandon.
“Of course I give plenty of credit to the teachers and staff at St. Andrew Avellino, but I gotta give Brandon the bulk of the credit for this one,” Kevin said. “He’s a very driven student, so I’m sure that anything he takes on outside of the classroom he’s able to succeed in.”
“Of course I give plenty of credit to the teachers and staff at St. Andrew Avellino, but I gotta give Brandon the bulk of the credit for this one,” he said. “He’s a very driven student, so I’m sure that anything he takes on outside of the classroom he’s able to succeed in.”
The school is a very close-knit community. Their principal Debora Hanna says it’s been amazing to watch Brandon turn into the child he is today.
“To watch a child come from a public school, very quiet and meek and grow into a young man, and then be given an award, it’s pretty cool,” she said.
Brandon says he dreams of one day attending a well-known college, and says something great with his life. It looks like he’s right on track.