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On most days, you’ll find Andrew Stewart doing pirouettes in a ballet studio or diving into the works of British composers. But this spring, the 14-year-old stepped onto a very different kind of stage — TCU’s graduate commencement — earning a master’s degree before he even finished middle school.
Stewart recently became one of the youngest graduates in TCU history, earning a Master of Liberal Arts degree and walking the stage at the university’s first-ever commencement dedicated solely to graduate students. No fanfare. No big speech. Just a kid in a cap and gown, quietly making history.
According to a Q&A on TCU’s AddRan College of Liberal Arts website, Stewart has always had a voracious appetite for knowledge. By the time he was 3, he had completed a kindergarten curriculum in a month. At 7, his deep dive into Civil War history prompted his parents to enroll him in a college-level online course. He thrived. “I did great, I loved it, and I never looked back,” he said.
While the world slowed down during the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrew sped up — knocking out much of his undergraduate coursework while other kids were still figuring out how to unmute themselves on Zoom. When he finished his bachelor’s degree, he wanted to keep going.
What drew him to the MLA program at TCU wasn’t a drive for prestige. It was curiosity — the kind of wide-ranging, unapologetically nerdy passion that rewards deep dives into subjects that don’t always connect in obvious ways. While many graduate programs are laser-focused on career paths, the MLA offered something different: freedom.
“I found many programs that were very focused on a specific career field, but I could not find any other program that offered the academic freedom that the MLA program does,” Andrew explained.
In the classroom, he explored a kaleidoscope of subjects. British music. Classical film scores. Protest anthems. The rhetoric of hip-hop. Environmental literature. Instructors like Dr. Steve Sherwood, Dr. David Buyze, and Ms. Colleen Mallette challenged him to think, write, and create at a high level. In Dr. Dusty Crocker’s course on creativity and innovation, he collaborated with classmates on a final project he calls a favorite.
What’s even more impressive is how he balanced it all. Ballet, for one, remains a huge part of his life. The intense discipline of training helped him stay organized and grounded, even as his peers were navigating middle school dances and locker combinations.
“Ballet has taught me to be very disciplined and manage my time well,” he said. And he made room for the fun stuff too: concerts, sports games, just being a teenager.
One class in particular — Dr. Danny Rodriguez’s Rhetoric of Hip Hop — left a lasting impression. It was in this class that Andrew unpacked the lyrics of famous rapper Eazy-E through the lens of historical context and current events. It was a moment where everything clicked. Music, culture, history — woven together in a way that made the world feel bigger, more layered.
Up next: a summer training with Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, followed by a return to BalletMet Academy in Ohio, where Andrew will continue pursuing his goal of becoming a professional dancer. Long-term, he envisions a future that combines creativity, scholarship, and leadership — possibly in arts administration. And yes, more school is likely.
“Academically, I plan to pursue further education that will continue to allow me to learn deeply,” he said.