While most seniors have fallen victim to the perilous raptures of senioritis, Senior Josh Yang hasn’t let this debilitating disease get the better of him. He will address his peers during the commencement proceedings June 10 as the Class of 2011 valedictorian.
As the frontrunner of the Senior Class, Josh has garnered a 4.85 cumulative GPA. He will enroll at the University of California, San Diego this fall. Although he admits it wasn’t his first choice, he was offered a full ride scholarship.
He plans to major in Bioengineering, and tentatively hopes to become a rheumatologist, a field of medicine that focuses on conditions affecting muscles, joints and bones, “however, depending on what opportunities present themselves, that may change,” he added.
Josh was completely unaware of his rank at the top of class until last year, and disclosed that he hasn’t changed his study habits too much in the last year, just maintained his good grades.
While many of us only dabble in a few Advanced Placement classes throughout our high school careers, Josh has taken and passed 15 AP classes and taken 15 AP tests. With so many unique classes here at University City, he confessed he doesn’t have a favorite class. “All of them are too distinct and separate for me to compare them fairly. I will say that, to me, it wasn’t the classes themselves that I liked, but mostly the teachers and students who made the class what it was,” he explained.
In addition to managing a demanding course load, Josh is a member of the Badminton Team, as well as numerous other clubs and organizations including Model United Nations and California Scholarship Federation. However, he added, “my participation kind of died down towards the end of the year.” But, everyone is allowed to have a little case of senioritis.
Even with such an academic inclination, Josh certainly doesn’t lack a sense of humor. Recounting his hobbies outside of his extra-curricular activities, he said he enjoys “…looking at the sky and trying to make shapes out of the clouds. That and sleeping. I can never get enough sleep.” And I’m sure most of us couldn’t agree more when it comes to the subject of sleep.
With graduation right around the corner and a big speech knocking at the door, Josh is rather relaxed. “I currently have no plans other than to include thank yous to a lot of people. I’m not nervous,” he said, “but I will be if I don’t write a speech before then.” Let’s hope the Class of 2011 valedictorian cures his bout of senioritis in time to write a speech!