Most 13-year-olds are navigating middle school. Joe Petraro-Hyppolite is preparing for graduate school.

The Long Island teenager has been accepted into a master’s program at New York University after earning a 1590 on the SAT at age 10 and graduating high school at 11. His IQ is 168.

But those remarkable numbers tell only part of Joe’s story. His journey has also included leukemia, Tourette’s syndrome, years of bullying and a mental health crisis that nearly cost him his life.

Joe struggled in school beginning in kindergarten, when difficulties communicating and verbal and physical tics eventually led to him being placed in special education. Then, in third grade, he was diagnosed with lymphocytic leukemia.

“It was a bad year,” his mother, Anne Petraro-Hyppolite, told PEOPLE. “He had a shaved head because of the treatment. He would purposely fail his tests and not spell the words right. Then he would come home and be reading about coding things. It didn’t add up.”

Evaluations ultimately revealed that Joe had Tourette’s syndrome, dyslexia and severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. Testing also revealed his extraordinary IQ.

After moving to a school that allowed him to work at his own pace, Joe flourished academically, eventually graduating from high school at 11 and enrolling in Louisiana State University’s online program.

But academic success didn’t erase the challenges he faced.

Joe said he endured severe bullying over his Tourette’s, cancer and intelligence. At one of his lowest points four years ago, the bullying contributed to a suicide attempt.

“I had a lot of low points,” Joe recalled.

Today, he looks back on that period much differently.

“I’m so glad I’m still here,” he said.

Now, Joe is preparing to finish his undergraduate degree in May before beginning NYU’s global sport master’s program next fall.

“Yeah, I mean, who wouldn’t be?” he said when asked if he was nervous about what comes next. “But then again, I am also excited, because new doors are opening.”

Joe is using those open doors to help others, too. He founded Joe’s Be Kind Campaign, which includes an Adopt a Grandparent program, inclusive sports opportunities and an initiative that has helped build more than 127 wells in Africa. He also advocates for greater awareness and understanding of Tourette’s syndrome.

His mother says that behind all the accomplishments is simply a young man who loves learning.

“He just loves to learn,” she said. “He is like a sponge.”

Joe also wants people to understand that his intelligence doesn’t mean everything comes easily.

“It’s not like I was shot out the womb knowing everything I know,” he said. “I have to learn it once or twice. Then I’ll know.”

His story is ultimately about far more than an IQ score or earning degrees at an unusually young age. It’s about persevering through circumstances that once seemed overwhelming and then using his gifts and experiences to help others.

Joe hopes other young people facing their own struggles remember that their darkest moment doesn’t have to be the end of their story.

“Always remember that there’s someone out there, no matter how far away they are or how old they are, that cares about them,” he said.