various programming problems.
They were given what is known as an
Arduino starter kit — a box of computer
components to make various projects,
sparking A.J.’s transition to electrical
engineering.
He says his favorite class in high
school was AP Calculus. His least favorite
was AP Human History.
“That was the hardest course I have
ever taken,” A.J. says. “My thing is, I like
solving problems. If X happens, then Y
will happen. Causation. In history, humans
don’t follow that pattern. AP Calculus is
the polar opposite. It’s logical.”
Outside the classroom, A.J. also made
an impact. As the Secretary of WRH’s National
Honor Society, he began the club’s
partnership with the Florida Department
of Transportation’s Adopt-A-Highway
Program, and led three roadside cleanups
on a 1.5-mile stretch of S.R. 56, collecting
more than 400 lbs of trash.
A.J., an only child, was born in New
York, but his parents moved to Wesley
Chapel when he was just two. Andy is an
accountant, while Sylvia works at the Moffitt
Cancer Center.
Their son didn’t play sports growing
up, but A.J. loved being a Boy Scout, joining
in the sixth grade.
He achieved the prestigious Eagle
Scout rank last summer.
“I came into Boy Scouts not really
knowing what a tree was, and grew into
someone capable of surviving in the outdoors
for a week. I learned a lot about leadership.
That was a huge part of my life.”
He went on a week-long, 50-mile
backpacking trip on the Appalachian
Trail, went whitewater river rafting on the
Ocoee (Tennessee) and Nantahala (North
Carolina) rivers, and is just as comfortable
setting up a tent at a campsite as he is
bunking in the trees with a hammock.
For his Eagle Scout project, A.J.
recruited 20 of his friends to help put up
eight bluebird boxes in his Westbrook Estates
neighborhood off S.R. 54. Bluebirds,
he says, are dying quickly, due to human
development and invasive species — “they
had no place to lay their eggs,” A.J. says,
but last summer in his neighborhood, 40
baby bluebirds were born.
“The point is to make an impact,”
A.J. says. “We provided a nice service.”
Teamwork, leadership and determination
in and outside the classroom are
characteristics that will serve A.J. well, his
parents say.
“We are proud of what Aidan has
accomplished thus far: Valedictorian at
Wiregrass Ranch, Eagle Scout, National
Merit Finalist and Project Mickey
Tampa ambassador,” they say, “but we
take the most pride in Aidan being a
well-rounded kid, one who is sociable,
empathetic and humble.”
G...I.V...E.. .Y...O...U...R... .C...H...I.L..D..
The Gift of Music
From the Comfort of Your Home!
A.J. with his National Honor Society classmates after cleaning up trash on S.R. 56.
all unprecedented. It’s pretty crazy what it
is happening.”
He also is unsure whether or not
the coronavirus also will delay his college
entry. He is considering Georgia Tech,
Duke and Florida. Given his druthers,
he’d like to study electrical engineering as
a Yellow Jacket in Atlanta, but will have to
see how the finances shake out. He says
the school has great classes for his future
major, as well as the opportunity to work
at semester-long co-ops.
A.J. originally thought he might
study computer science in college, because
he says he enjoys logical and analytical
problem-solving concepts. He attended a
few computer science camps with Kelvin
— who has a 1950 chess rating by the
way, just shy of the expert rating of 2000
— and in 2019, they placed third together
at the annual Lockheed Martin Code
Quest competition in Orlando.
The computer programming competition
has teams of 2-3 students working
together for 2.5 hours at 23 Lockheed
Martin sites around the world to solve
PIANO • VOICE • GUITAR • DRUMS • VIOLIN • FLUTE • SAXOPHONE • TRUMPET • AND MORE
CALL TODAY FOR LESSONS FROM HOME! 813-991-1177
ExcelMusic.org
Neighborhood News @NTWCNews For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 28, Issue 8 • April 10, 2020 • NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net 11
/ExcelMusic.org
/NeighborhoodNewsOnline.net