Juliana “Jewels” Wandell with her parents, Eric and Rosie Wandell. PHOTO BY KIND MEDIA LLC
Wellington’s Juliana Wandell Graduates From FAU With A Double Major At Age 17
College Grad
BY DEBORAH WELKY
Wellington teenager Juliana Wandell graduated last month from Florida Atlantic University with dual bachelor’s degrees in computer engineering and computer science. At age 17, she became FAU’s youngest student ever to accomplish this feat. Wandell, who goes by the nickname “Jewels,” has been on her accelerated educational trajectory for a long time — since she was 24 months old, in fact. 66
june 2020 | wellington the magazine
“She started pre-kindergarten at St. Joseph’s Episcopal School when she was 2, and they bumped her into kindergarten,” recalled Rosie Wandell, her mother. “Headmaster Kay Johnson saw something in her.” From there, it was elementary school, several years of home schooling, and then college credits that began accruing in the ninth grade. “At FAU High School, you take high
school courses, as well as some electives that count as college classes, like my Spanish and engineering classes,” Jewels said. “You then apply to FAU and, from 10th grade onward, take a full course load on campus.” She didn’t start out with the goal of graduating from college at age 17. In fact, she initially tried to function at her own grade level. “I got bored,” Jewels recalled. “If a