Monroeville 17-year-old finishes high school, community college, master's degree in 8 years

About this time, most 17-year-olds are looking forward to the end of another year of high school and a little summer vacation.

R.J. Krishnaswamy of Monroeville was graduating from the University of Pittsburgh.

Again.

Krishnaswamy graduated from community college at 13 and earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Pitt last year at 16.

In late April, Krishnaswamy walked the dais again to receive his master’s degree in computer science.

“I’m interested in being at the forefront of research in technology,” he said. “I want to be developing the latest and greatest advancements in computer science, maybe more on the science side.”

Krishnaswamy’s mother, Maria, said she knew from a very young age that her son needed a stronger academic challenge.

“We had meeting after meeting at his school, and he was unhappy,” she said of his kindergarten year. “He was reading ‘Harry Potter’ at 3 years old and doing basic algebra at 4.”

Initially opting for homeschooling, she enrolled Krishnaswamy in a cyber charter school where students could work at their own pace.

He was off to the races.

“The first year, he did kindergarten and first grade,” his mother said. “The second year, second and third grade. The next year, fourth and fifth grade.”

In sixth grade, Krishnaswamy passed the entrance exam to qualify for courses at the Community College of Allegheny County.

At 13 years old, Krishnaswamy graduated from both high school and CCAC, where he earned associate’s degrees in mathematics and computer science. Then it was off to Pitt.

“I worked with him on two projects, starting when he was 16 years old,” said Daniel Mosse, interim chair for Pitt’s computer science department. “One was his master’s thesis, where I served as his advisor. He succeeded in extracting concepts automatically from teaching materials. He was able to present a program with a lecture, and the program was able to pull out the concepts that were at the core of the lecture.”

Mosse said it was a unique experience.

“It was exciting to be working with someone so eager to learn and also largely self-taught,” he said. “I think his age was a factor in that eagerness.”

Michael Miller Yoder, a part-time instructor in Pitt’s computer science department, also advised Krishnaswamy on his master’s thesis.

“R.J. was the type of student who had an answer to every question and was extremely well-prepared, even in a class full of grad students with fairly advanced material,” Yoder said.

And while his education has presented issues he was happy to tackle, Krishnaswamy’s age has been an occasional issue that was tougher to work around.

“When I went to take the SATs, you have to be 13 years old to create an account,” he said with laugh. “So we had to work through that. There are times when I feel like I’m sacrificing some extracurricular things to do academics. But I have friends at college, and it’s really fun hanging out with them. But, you know — I don’t go to parties.”

In his academic life, Krishnaswamy’s age has also proven a challenge when seeking internships.

“Pitt’s Career Services has been trying to help me with that, but it’s difficult,” he said.

Krishnaswamy’s mother said she’s always tried to advocate for R.J.

“There’s been a lot of brick walls we had to break through,” she said. “It’s a challenge to have someone who wants to advance, who’s interested and capable. It’s a problem, but it’s a good problem.”