WAUKESHA — Here at Carroll University, you will find fresh-faced students eager to learn but one young student is in a class all by himself.
You'll see a wiz from Waukesha who happens to be 14 years old. Yes, he finds college exciting.
"I have an environment where everyone is committed to learning. Committed to helping students learn or students are committed to learning themselves," said Anthony Sikorski. "If you're in a stimulating environment you're much more likely to be stimulated yourself."
And this teen who skipped four grades is undaunted by subjects like organic chemistry, calculus, and biology.
Carroll University biology professor Dr. Todd Levin has witnessed Anthony's thirst for knowledge.
"It's so wonderful to see him get attached and suspect he will discover paths that he didn't know existed," said Levine. "None of us would have seen for him."
Anthony's mom says he started reading at two years old.
"We filled his life with books, the library, he listened to classical music," said Jill Sikorski.
"This is his everyday medication, every day he takes about 55 pills," says Jill.
But don't think Anthony uses his health challenges as an excuse to avoid work.
"No one should treat me differently than anyone else in terms of academic or social affairs, regardless of my age or medical conditions, that doesn't affect those directly," said Alex.
And his health has not diminished Anthony's spirit: he's warm, inviting, and overwhelmingly optimistic.
"You have to maintain a positive outlook on life overall in spite of these difficulties," he says. "If you find at least one thing that's gone well for you in a day, then that day is a good day. If you can take the things as they come in turn and appreciate the fact that you have a great amount of blessings in your life, then that is the true key to being wise. There are always people you wish would make different choices but at the same time, but at the same time, the entire world is not like that. It's personal choices. If we blamed everybody else in the world for our problems, the world would be miserable because of much of the blame in many cases like in ourselves."
After talking to Anthony, it's clear a young man with a big brain, and a bigger heart is already scoring high marks in humanity.
"You must base your life on what you do have, you can't reclaim what you don't have. You can't call it [on] ourselves to get traits that you cannot alter, yet we have enough things that we do have that you can benefit from...if you can focus on those. If not life has essentially no meaning," said Anthony.
