When 16-year-old Jivan Ramesh walks across the stage at Stony Brook University’s 2025 Commencement, he’ll be making history as the youngest SBU graduate in decades, completing the degree that he began at age 13 in just three years.
“It honestly still feels a little bit like a dream,” said Ramesh, a double major in biochemistry and music in the College of Arts and Sciences. “With a lot of my things, it’s been like I didn’t quite realize I was there until I was there.”
Ramesh began his college journey as a non-matriculated student for a year before applying to Stony Brook. He quickly realized he was ready for the challenge. “It was literally the start of the semester when I started doing the college courses and I realized, ‘Oh, I’m good, I can do this’,” he said.
Ramesh, who was homeschooled, said the flexibility and responsibility of homeschooling helped prepare him for college life. “I was able to manage my own schedule. That allowed me to keep up with extracurriculars and still get everything done. It also helped me learn how to schedule and prioritize — skills that were invaluable at Stony Brook.”
Ramesh began his time at Stony Brook commuting an hour each way, driven by his parents, who would either remain on campus or leave and return to pick him up, depending on his schedule. Halfway through his degree, his family moved much closer to campus, which allowed him greater flexibility with his schedule.
Despite the age difference with classmates, he found his place by participating in ensembles, student groups and a campus job. He served as secretary of the Broadway Orchestra, music director for the Actors Conservatory and worked as a peer tutor at the Academic Success and Tutoring Center. “It’s so rewarding to help students get that little click when the idea finally slots into place,” he said.
“At first, it was a little nerve-wracking being younger than other students,” he admitted. “But eventually I stopped thinking about age and just focused on what I could bring to the table.”
What inspired a 13-year-old to major in both biochemistry and music? For Ramesh, the connection between the two is both scientific and spiritual. “Music has something of a healing power. I was interested in the biochemical process that results in that. That’s initially what got me into it,” he explained. He credits both his father, who studied biochemistry, and his own fascination with how music affects mental health and behavior.
Ramesh has performed with the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York in Flushing since 2016 and now serves as its principal cellist. He also teaches cello, theory and notation. His most memorable Stony Brook performance came when he invited a world-renowned guzheng player to perform his composition, “Memory,” on campus. “It was just such a wonderful experience to bring my work in the Chinese orchestra here to campus and help spread those ideas,” he said. He also premiered his first electronic composition just a week before graduation.
Ramesh often enrolled in over 20 credits each semester and found joy in subjects many dread. “I found organic chemistry to be really fun once I got into it,” he said. He also took classes over the winter and summer sessions to complete lab work and to get ahead in courses.
He credits several faculty mentors for supporting his journey, including Professors Perry Goldstein and Nirmali Fenn from the Department of Music. “They both taught me so much and helped me expand my music comfort zone,” he said. He also named Jane Saunders from the Department of Music and his ASTC supervisors Marissa Glazer and Cynthia Grimley as instrumental to his development.
As for what’s next, Ramesh is taking a well-deserved break, and plans to apply for his driver learners permit, something for which he has had no time while in college. He’s applied to several graduate programs in music and is considering a career in composition. He’s already been asked to arrange and edit books of music by a Grammy-winning fiddler and a knighted Filipino musician. And just for fun, he recently took the LSAT. “I did well on it. It was mostly for fun, but it’s good to keep options open.”
Ramesh is comfortable letting his passions guide his future. “Playing and composing music go very much hand in hand,” he said. “If I didn’t play, my composition wouldn’t be what it is. And if I didn’t compose, my playing wouldn’t have as much emotion. I know both will be a part of my life no matter what I pursue.”
With graduation coinciding just days before his 17th birthday, Ramesh said that completing his degrees “is a bit of an early birthday present to myself.”
He encourages younger students to pursue their passion and to find balance. “Take the time to find out what really interests you, and don’t feel rushed to choose one path over another. I’ve heard people say I could be the next Stravinsky or a Nobel Prize winner, but I’m 16. I need time to figure that out.”
Whether in a lab, on a stage, in a courtroom or somewhere in between, Jivan Ramesh is just getting started.
— Beth Squire
congratulations ,very proud of you