In 2018, David Turturean (16 at the time), a Romanian bright student, got qualified for two international Olympiads: astrophysics and astronomy, China and Sri Lanka. The only problem was – he had to pay for his attendance himself, as not all participation fees were covered by the government. Now... to travel to China and Sri Lanka from Romania isn’t precisely a walk around the block for a low-income adolescent coming from a small town in Romania.

But the community didn’t let him down. Through a fundraising campaign, we raised 3X the sum needed.
He came back with GOLD and SILVER from both competitions.

His story became national news. He kept participating year after year, coming back home with excellent results.
Now, David is an MIT student, with a full scholarship.

I invited him to this podcast to speak about how his perseverance, family, and community support changed the course of events. We chat about the mental health issues that a top performer can face, how he managed all the media coverage, and how he keeps his mental clarity while still performing at one of the best universities in the world.

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⌚ Timestamps:

00:00  – Getting to know David
02:25 – David’s Life Story
10:16 – David’s story of international performance
12:45 – How fundraising changed David’s course of events
23:27 – How did it feel to get a Gold Medal in the Olympiad?
26:22 – Preserving mental health as a top performer
34:00 – How can parents protect their top-performing children?
40:00 – Becoming a student at MIT
46:20 – Applying to high-profile US Universities as a low-income student
49:36 – Myths about being a high-achieving student
56:08 – David’s Plans for the future
58:09 – What change would you like to see in the world?