Whiz Kid: Ben Altman

“When I was little, I was always occupied, I was never bored. I was always reading or figuring things out, I never sat idle,” said Benjamin Altman, 16, and a 2011 graduate from Danbury High School as Valedictorian with a GPA of 4.96.

 Ben's giant GPA is the result of taking AP classes throughout his high school career. “I took five AP classes as a senior, six as a junior, and two in my sophomore year,” he said.

 This fall, Ben will be attending the University of Pennsylvania and with a dual major of engineering and business. Math and engineering have been a part of Ben's life as long as his mother can remember. 

“He was always fascinated with infinity, even when he was very young. He knew that a number would have a comma after three zeros, and he would try to write the largest number he could. Other kids would draw with sidewalk chalk and he would write the number all the way down the driveway,” said mom Sheila Sundaram.

 Ben's musical talents were also evident at an early age. “He started taking piano when he was three, and by four he was playing the Battle Hymn of the Republic. He had heard it at pre-school and came home and played it by ear. We thought it was amazing, but he was our first child, and we thought all children could do these things,” said Sheila.

 “Ben is very musical, when we were in the Washington, D.C., he loved riding the metro. He was probably three or four, and when they closed the train doors they would make a signal. Ben said to me, When the doors close they go E-C-E-G, and a friend of mine said he must have perfect pitch.

 My husband bought me a keyboard so I could learn a few simple tunes, and Ben came running up and asked if I had just played a C. He could hear anything and play it right back. Everything I learned, I learned from him. He was born with it. He took lessons at Suzuki in Newtown, and he has recently been with our wonderful piano teacher, Edith Sullivan.”

 Sundaram said that music runs in the family. “I always wanted to take music lessons when I was young, and I never did, so even before Ben was born, I knew I was going to make sure he had lessons. My husband's family is also very musical. My mother-in-law sings with the the National Philharmonic Chorale, directed by Stan Engebretson.” 

“I have been studying for ten years now,” said Ben. “I've played in the Danbury, Community Orchestra, and played competitively, too. Music is one of my passions, but just one of many. I also like computers, I'm a technology enthusiastic. I built a computer, it was a project a couple years ago, and it worked great. It's still around.”

 Ben counts being valedictorian as his greatest personal achievement. When asked his greatest challenge, Ben said, “Getting enough sleep, which is at the end of my priorities because I like to get everything else done.”

 Getting everything done seems to be one of Ben's trademarks. He won the science fair in his freshman and sophomore year, and this year, he won the National Merit Scholarship award. Out of 1.5 million entrants who qualitfy for the competition, only 8,400 receive one of the three scholarship awards. This year, thirty-one in Connecticut won the $2,500 Merit Scolarship Award, and Ben Altman was among them. Altman also won scholarships from IBM and Big Y.

 “We are definitely been very proud of him,” said Sundaram. “He has shown a lot of dedication and commtiment with what he has done at this stage, and we are very proud of him.”