17 Year Old Science Student Graduates from FAU

Not many middle school students spend their free time at the local public library teaching children how to read, but then again, John Sousa wasn't your typical sixth grader. By the time he left Deerfield Beach Middle School, he had already completed all of his high school classes online. It was the same story again at Commencement on April 30th.

Sousa, 17, graduated from Florida Atlantic University on Thursday with a bachelor's degree in neuroscience and behavior magna cum laude. He will have a college degree before he even graduates from FAU High School on Thursday May 7.

After finishing his high school classes by eighth grade, he knew he needed a high school with an unusual curriculum, and that's how he ended up at FAU High.

"It really gives students several opportunities at a younger age," he said. "All of us have a lot in common. It's a collegiate environment and it fosters camaraderie."

In the fall of 2012, Sousa began taking psychology classes at FAU because he had always been fascinated by human behavior. The classes sparked an interest in biology and neuroscience, and eventually led him to research.

"Research really taps into both the intellectual creativity and the analytical side of me," he explained. "I love being able to contribute to scientific knowledge."

Sousa spent his time in the lab researching the effects of drugs and the physiology of the brain. He was just published in the New England Journal of Medicine and his findings will be presented at the upcoming Pediatric Academics Society meeting in San Diego.

Sousa plans to become a physician researcher and use his findings to advance the field of medicine.