A high school graduate at age 11; four years later, he graduated with a bachelor in Maths from University of California, Los Angeles. He is currently pursuing an online course in cybersecurity through the Boston area’s Brandeis University.
That is the story of 17-year old Moshe Kai Cavalin who hails from San Gabriel in California; he has two college degrees and cannot vote. He cannot drive all by himself but surprisingly is able to fly airplanes.
He currently works with the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) where he is helping develop surveillance technology for airplanes and drones.
Even with that schedule, Cavalin has his hands deep in other extracurricular and employment related activities. He has published a second book centred on experiences related to bullying and stories told by others around the subject.
Cavalin also has series of trophies from martial arts tournaments. He credits his parents (a Taiwanese mother and Brazilian father) for his sterling academic and focussed professional pursuits.
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“My case isn’t that special. It’s just a combination of parenting and motivation and inspiration,” he says in an interview with the Associated Press (AP) at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. “I tend to not compare myself that often to other people. I just try to do the best I can,” he added.
Daniel Judge, his Mathematics professor in College said; “I think most people just think he’s a genius, they believe it just comes naturally, he actually worked harder than, I think, any other student I’ve ever had.”
Cavalin said he was surprised when NASA called to offer him employment after rejecting him in the past because of his age.
Ricardo Arteaga, his boss and mentor at NASA, speaks highly of his impact and work ethic, he described Cavalin as perfect for a project that combines math, computers and aircraft technology.
“I needed an intern who knew software and knew mathematical algorithms,” Arteaga says. “And I also needed a pilot who could fly it on a Cessna.”
After completion of his now ‘suspended’ master’s program from Brandeis, Cavalin looks to bag another master’s in business at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has long term dreams of starting his own cybersecurity company.
Till then, he eagerly awaits his 18th birthday, after which he’ll be able to get a full driver’s license under California law. Given that he lives he depends on his landlord and older colleagues to get around, in worse case he picks a cab.
