courtesy of the Petraro family
11-year-old Joe Petraro of Long Island, New York, will take online classes at LSU this fall as a sports leadership major. Joe, who has Tourette’s, graduated high school this year after speeding through middle and high school in two and a half years. He says his Tourette’s and intelligence used to be at odds, but now he’s using them to his advantage.
“Well, it’s been very hard, but I learned to just live through it,” he explains. “And I dance, also, and do a lot of sports. And it helps.”
Joe’s special education teacher noticed he was a genius when he was in third grade. His parents enrolled him in private schools and special programs to meet his intellectual needs and it turns out his IQ is an amazing 168.
Joe began taking online classes at LSU this summer, he admits it’s a bit different than high school.
“Well, it’s a little bit harder than high school because I have to follow directions better,” he laughs. “But it was awesome!”
Joe wants to be a sports broadcaster when he graduates, and he’s friends with former LSU basketball legend Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, who also has Tourette’s.
Joe says he chose LSU because he believes they have the best college teams. As to why he chose to be a sports management major:
“I love sports! And I may not be the best player, but I want to spread peace in sports, and inclusion.”
Joe is taking online classes from his home in Long Island, where he will spend his time between classes with his Boy Scout troop.
Here is Jeff Palermo’s interview with Joe.
Audio Player
Comments