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What's Jack Andraka reading?

 
Jack Andraka, who wrote the memoir Breakthrough: How One Teen Innovator Is Changing the World, will attend Stanford in the fall.
Jack Andraka, who wrote the memoir Breakthrough: How One Teen Innovator Is Changing the World, will attend Stanford in the fall.
Published May 13, 2015

Nightstand

Jack Andraka

When a family friend died from pancreatic cancer a few years ago, Andraka, now 18, realized he wanted to join the fight against the disease. As a sophomore at North County High School in Glen Burnie, Md., he discovered a possible early detection test for pancreatic, ovarian and lung cancers, based on the biomarker mesothelin. His test is currently being reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration.

Andraka, who will attend Stanford in the fall, has shared his experiences in a memoir, Breakthrough: How One Teen Innovator Is Changing the World. He is the recipient of the 2014 Jefferson Award for public service, the 2014 National Geographic Emerging Explorer and the 2012 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Youth Award. In 2013, he attended the State of the Union Address as first lady Michelle Obama's guest.

What's on your nightstand?

The Olympians series by Percy Jackson and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I love that book. I've also been reading some Shakespeare, believe it or not.

With your abilities in science, I didn't expect you to be into classic literature. Do you enjoy your English classes?

Actually, English gives me much more anxiety. Whatever writing I do, I keep rewriting, thinking it is not good enough. Science is more clear cut.

What's up with Pride and Prejudice that makes you love it? Is it the period it's set in?

No. I'm super sappy. I enjoy romantic comedies, and this is one of the greatest rom-coms.

If you were going to talk to Shakespeare, what would you say to him?

Is Hamlet crazy or not? I'm still wondering about this. I can never figure this out. Was he just acting crazy or really insane? It is still a burning question for me, and I wonder inside if and when I will ever find this out.

I know losing your friend to cancer moved you into action, but you were so young. How was your scientific knowledge cultivated at such a young age?

I definitely have to credit my parents. They really got my brother and I into science at a super young age. They would make us get outside and encourage us to do fun backyard experiments instead of giving us cold hard facts. Even now we still try crazy experiments. My parents encouraged our creativity, which led to me thinking about science in everyday life. I really think we have to make kids understand that science can change the world. Kids would be much more receptive to learning science if that meant something to them.

Contact Piper Castillo at pcastillo@tampabay.com or (727) 445-4163. Follow @Florida_PBJC.