Teachers: Mathew as Brilliant a Person as He is a Student

For those who know Madison High School senior Akhil Mathew, the answer is yes, there is one thing the wunderkind doesn't understand: what all the fuss is about his accomplishments and abilities.

To Mathew, it truly is just how he has always gone about his daily business. And the mystery to him is why people make such a big deal about it.

"I just try to focus on learning new things and not worry about other things," said the student who has won two $50,000 scholarships so far and has had a day named after him in school.

And for those who may think that could be false modesty coming from someone who has worked with college professors to help them write a text book in mathematics, his teachers have a different message.

"He's very respectful. He's humble," said Madison High School Head of Mathematics Marcia Prill, who taught Mathew in AP Statistics when he was a sophomore, and most of the other students in class were seniors. "We had Akhil Mathew Day on March 25 and he was embarrassed by it. He is not doing it to be in the spotlight. He's doing this because he loves what he's doing. He is really kind and helpful."

And he's not just that way with his specialties, which are math and science. Though he placed third in the 2010 Intel Talent Search, won a Davidson Fellow Scholarship for his project "Translation - Invariant Binary Representations," and was a semifinalist for the Siemens Math, Science and Technology Competition–the first two garnered the the $50,000 scholarships–Mathew gets just as excited about subjects such as French and history.

"He is taking a college level French course, which is a very good indication of his willingness to step outside of his comfort zone in an area where he is very much a learner, where he is not ahead of the teachers,"said Mathew's AP French teacher, Penelope Scheer. "Many kids would have thought it was too tough. He is willing to take on any challenge."

However, that doesn't mean he doesn't find unique applications for those subjects. Scheer likes to tell a story of how Mathew, who finishes most of his tests before the majority of the class, would take out a math book while he waited for the other students to finish. When Scheer jokingly asked him about reading a math book in French class, Mathew surprised her by showing her the book was written in French.

"He showed me that, even though it was a math book, it was a French math book," Scheer said. "It hadn't been translated yet."

Again, most people might find that type of academic pursuit and knowledge astounding, but not the humble Mathew.

"It was only one book, one article in French," Mathew said.

That humble attitude is coupled with a genuine care for others, according to Mathew's teachers.

"The thing that struck me about him, besides all the things about how humble he is, is how he is earnest and just a really good guy," history teacher Felicia Fellows said. "He just took a genuine and reflective interest in the world. Some people might say, 'math is my thing.' He is interested in how the world works and why things are the way they are, whether in math or history."

That interest is something his parents have been able to watch grow throughout the years. Mother Rama Madhavarao and father Mathew Thomas moved from Scotch Plains to Madison when Mathew was in third grade. Madhavarao said he frequented the Madison Public Library soon after, as he demonstrated his thirst for learning by taking a serious interest in chess and more advanced books as early as fifth grade.

"He always enjoyed reading from the time when he was young," Madhavarao said. "Even when he was in first grade he enjoyed numbers, and he loved physics; anything to do with science was interesting to him. He was always a curious kid. He always loved playing chess from his early elementary school years and he used to come to this library to play."

Mathew's parents are very proud of their son, but they never pushed him to find interest in specific fields or activities. Mathew's father works on wireless technologies for Alcatel-Lucent in Berkeley Heights and his mother is an adjunct faculty member at The College of St. Elizabeth where she teaches math. But it's not what Mathew is interested in that excites them, but rather his passion.

"He's very curious and he would want to understand things," Madhavarao said. "There is so much excitement to see the light in a child's eyes when they are learning, when they are finding something new and enjoying it. I see a lot of joy. We are more than happy to support him."

The family support is something his parents have seen, and respect, as well.

"He comes form a beautiful family," Scheer said. "They are the least pushy people. Clearly their son is self motivated. They seem, to me, that if he were a far different person, they'd still be accepting. They are the most accepting people, and no matter what he would choose to be, they would be accepting."

There is a mutual admiration between Mathew's parents and teachers. Madhavarao says she is gratefully to all of the teachers at Madison for all they have done for her son. She is also thankful that the district went out of its way to help with instruction for Mathew when it was clear he had outgrown everything a high school math staff could teach him.

Mathew was able to take independent study with Drew University Assistant Vice President of Technology Alan Candiotti. Candiotti in turn introduced Mathew to associate professors Chris Apelian and Steve Surace, both of whom he has helped in writing their undergraduate text book, "Real and Complex Analysis."

Though his teachers acknowledge that Mathew does a lot of learning on his own, they make a point to say how willing he is to help other students in class. It is easy for those who have expert knowledge in a subject to become frustrated when trying to teach others who do not understand the material on the same level. Not so with Mathew.

"He is such an honest person and just really cares about people and wants to help," Fellows said. " He helps kids study. He is quick to give them what they need. He is very patient. He's never like, 'you don't know that?' He makes no judgment at all of other people."

And that's what many of the staff members at Madison will remember Mathew for once he goes on to higher education–he decided to attend Harvard over MIT at the May 1 decision deadline. They admire his ability, but have been charmed by his personality. His mother also smiles when talking about the person her son has become.

"This is his passion and I feel every kid has to do what comes naturally best and be supportive," Madhavarao said of Mathew, who is planning on becoming a professor and researcher one day. "Parents should support a child's natural inclination, rather than foster what is financially the best thing or something else. He's a great kid, a warm person, and I am very proud of him."