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Jack Andraka’s Parents on Raising a Science Whiz Kid
Remember Jack Andraka?
Magazine - Meet The Parents
Jack Andraka’s Parents on Raising a Science Whiz Kid
After Jack Andraka took home the top prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair at age 15, his family steered him through accolades, opportunities and backlash
By Seth Stevenson
Nov. 3, 2015 9:55 a.m. ET
....
The rec room of the suburban Crownsville, Maryland, home of Steve and Jane Andraka and their two sons, Jack and Luke, has been transformed into a makeshift laboratory. Ever since Jack cultured dangerous E. coli bacteria on the kitchen stove in fifth grade, left a bowl with nanoparticle residue on the counter that his cousin then accidentally ate cereal out of and helped Luke (his older brother by two years) destroy the family microwave by zapping aluminum foil in it to see what might happen, Mom and Dad have forced the boys’ experiments downstairs. The air hockey table teems with transformers, spools of wire and welding masks. “We buy them all the safety equipment, and they never wear it,” Steve says.
....
The Andraka home has long been a place of chaos, with pet ferrets running around on the floor, shipments of esoteric lab chemicals showing up in the mailbox and two boys intent on pushing the boundaries of both DIY experimentation and parental patience. But life went into warp drive when Jack won big at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, in 2012, as a 15-year-old high school freshman. Jack’s method for detecting certain early-stage cancers using a nonintrusive test took the top prize of $75,000. A YouTube clip of Jack running onstage at the big moment has been viewed nearly a million times: He screams, falls to the ground, hugs everyone in sight and beams as a squall of confetti rains over his head. “I didn’t think there was any chance he’d win,” Jane says. “I’d brought a little toy gun full of confetti that I was going to shoot on him in the parking lot after he lost.”
....
The family experienced its bleakest moment when Jack broke down in eighth grade, harming himself in a school bathroom as he came to grips with both his sexuality and the cruelty of bullying classmates. He’d hidden the strain from his parents until a guidance counselor called them in. “I was the golden child who won science fairs and math competitions, and I felt like I couldn’t show weakness,” Jack says now.
“We didn’t recognize he was having problems,” Steve says. “He was scared to tell me he was gay. But I looked in his eyes and made him understand that I love him as my son. I’m not going to change him and I’m not going to abandon him.”
Jack Andraka’s Parents on Raising a Science Whiz Kid
After Jack Andraka took home the top prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair at age 15, his family steered him through accolades, opportunities and backlash
By Seth Stevenson
Nov. 3, 2015 9:55 a.m. ET
....
The rec room of the suburban Crownsville, Maryland, home of Steve and Jane Andraka and their two sons, Jack and Luke, has been transformed into a makeshift laboratory. Ever since Jack cultured dangerous E. coli bacteria on the kitchen stove in fifth grade, left a bowl with nanoparticle residue on the counter that his cousin then accidentally ate cereal out of and helped Luke (his older brother by two years) destroy the family microwave by zapping aluminum foil in it to see what might happen, Mom and Dad have forced the boys’ experiments downstairs. The air hockey table teems with transformers, spools of wire and welding masks. “We buy them all the safety equipment, and they never wear it,” Steve says.
....
The Andraka home has long been a place of chaos, with pet ferrets running around on the floor, shipments of esoteric lab chemicals showing up in the mailbox and two boys intent on pushing the boundaries of both DIY experimentation and parental patience. But life went into warp drive when Jack won big at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, in 2012, as a 15-year-old high school freshman. Jack’s method for detecting certain early-stage cancers using a nonintrusive test took the top prize of $75,000. A YouTube clip of Jack running onstage at the big moment has been viewed nearly a million times: He screams, falls to the ground, hugs everyone in sight and beams as a squall of confetti rains over his head. “I didn’t think there was any chance he’d win,” Jane says. “I’d brought a little toy gun full of confetti that I was going to shoot on him in the parking lot after he lost.”
....
The family experienced its bleakest moment when Jack broke down in eighth grade, harming himself in a school bathroom as he came to grips with both his sexuality and the cruelty of bullying classmates. He’d hidden the strain from his parents until a guidance counselor called them in. “I was the golden child who won science fairs and math competitions, and I felt like I couldn’t show weakness,” Jack says now.
“We didn’t recognize he was having problems,” Steve says. “He was scared to tell me he was gay. But I looked in his eyes and made him understand that I love him as my son. I’m not going to change him and I’m not going to abandon him.”
