You’ve probably seen the headlines by now. Zohran Mamdani, the rapper-turned-politician who basically upended New York City politics, is officially the Mayor. It’s a wild story. But before he was the guy fighting for fare-free buses and winning a long-shot mayoral bid, he was just another kid hauling a heavy backpack through the hallways of the Bronx High School of Science.
Most people look at a "specialized high school" alum and think: straight-A student, future doctor, maybe a tech CEO. But the Zohran Mamdani Bronx Science years weren't exactly a cookie-cutter path to the Ivy League.
Honestly, looking back at his time there gives us a much better picture of why he governs the way he does now. It wasn't just about the science labs. It was about cricket, failed student government runs, and a history teacher who happened to be the brother of a Supreme Court Justice.
The 2010 Graduation and the "Elite" Label
Zohran graduated from Bronx Science in 2010. For those who aren't from the city, Bronx Science is one of those "Big Three" specialized schools where you have to take a grueling exam just to get in. It’s prestigious. It’s intense. It’s also where he first started testing the waters of leadership, even if he didn't always win.
He actually ran for student body vice president. He lost.
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Think about that for a second. The guy who eventually beat a former governor to become mayor couldn't even win a high school election. It’s kinda funny, but it also shows he’s been at this "outsider" thing for a long time. Instead of sticking to the usual script, he spent his energy co-founding the school's first-ever cricket team. That’s a very "Zohran" move—finding a niche that reflected his background and making space for it in a rigid institution.
The Marc Kagan Influence
One of the coolest details from his time at Bronx Science involves his favorite teacher, Marc Kagan. If that name sounds familiar, it should; he’s the brother of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan. But Marc wasn't some career academic. He was a former transit worker and union activist.
Kagan taught Zohran world history. He remembers a 10th-grade version of Zohran who was already deep into the "why" of things.
There’s this famous story—well, famous in NYC political circles—about Zohran’s dad, Mahmood Mamdani. The elder Mamdani is a massive deal in the academic world, a professor at Columbia. Apparently, he showed up to a parent-teacher conference complaining that Zohran "only" had a 95 in history. He wanted to know why his son wasn't working harder. Kagan’s response? He told the dad not to worry about the grade because "the wheels are spinning in your son's head."
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That’s the core of the Zohran Mamdani Bronx Science experience. It wasn't just about rote memorization. It was about learning how to think about power, labor, and history from a guy who had actually been on the front lines of labor unions. You can see that exact influence in Mamdani’s current obsession with public transit and workers' rights.
Why It Matters for NYC Today
A lot of voters look at Mamdani and see a radical. But his background at Bronx Science gives him a weirdly "traditional" NYC pedigree. He knows the system because he was a product of it.
- He attended Bank Street for middle school.
- He survived the specialized high school pressure cooker.
- He worked as a standardized test tutor later in life.
Because of this, he’s in a unique position to talk about the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT). Most politicians either want to scrap it entirely or keep it exactly as is. Mamdani’s stance is more nuanced—he’s seen the "promise and the failure" of the system. He knows that these schools can be life-changing, but he also knows they are failing to be inclusive.
What Most People Get Wrong
There's a misconception that Mamdani was some sort of high school rebel who hated the institution. Not really. He was a soccer player. He was a cricket fan. He was a kid with a 95 average whose dad wanted a 100.
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He was deeply embedded in the culture of the school. The difference is that while other kids were looking for a way into the establishment, he was looking for ways to make the establishment work for everyone else.
If you want to understand the Mayor, don't just look at his 2025 campaign. Look at the 2010 graduate who was co-founding sports teams and debating history with a former bus mechanic. That's where the blueprint for his "people-powered" politics actually started.
Actionable Insights from the Mamdani Story
If you're following NYC politics or just interested in how education shapes leaders, here is the takeaway:
- Look for the "Non-Traditional" Successes: Mamdani’s failed high school VP run proves that early "failures" in rigid systems don't define your ceiling.
- The Value of Mentorship: The connection between a transit-worker-turned-teacher and a future mayor shows why diverse professional backgrounds in teaching matter.
- Check the Nuance on Education Reform: Understand that Mamdani’s view on specialized schools comes from being an insider, which is why his proposals for "independent analysis" of the SHSAT carry weight.
- Local History Matters: Following the trajectory of NYC's specialized high school alumni often predicts the city's next 20 years of policy.
Zohran’s time at Bronx Science wasn't just a pit stop; it was the training ground for the disruptive, intellectually curious style of leadership he’s brought to City Hall.