By Kai-Lou Yue
News Editor
After four years in high school, Westford Academy senior Justin Yao will have the honor of graduating as Salutatorian of the 2015 class. Yao achieved a 4.27 GPA during his time at WA and also participated in a variety of extracurricular activities.
Graduating as salutatorian is often viewed as an impressive academic feat, second only to the position of valedictorian, and competition is high for those positions. However, Yao did not feel that the positions changed anything in particular.
“Everybody is pretty similar at the top, so I personally don’t think that such distinctions really matter. Competition is fairly high […] Everybody is similar, so the rankings can swap around,” said Yao.
Although he took a total of eight AP courses, such as BC Calculus, AP Physics, and AP Chemistry, from his sophomore through senior year, Yao did not experience much trouble handling his workload.
“I think I just went along with the workload as it came along,” he said.
Out of the courses he took, Yao does not believe he excelled in any particular one, but in general greatly enjoyed subjects in the science and mathematics fields. Biology, Chemistry, and Calculus were among his favorites.
Consequently, he intends to major in a STEM field, most likely in one related to computer science. With this major in mind, he has committed to the Georgia Institute of Technology and will be attending there in the fall.
“I decided on [Georgia Tech] because it is a rigorous tech school located in the heart of Atlanta. Because of its location, it has easy access to the nearby Atlanta airport, making for easy travel. Additionally, there are many nearby attractions, such as the Atlanta Aquarium & Zoo, Coca Cola factory, Olympic village from 1996 Olympics, etc so there are many exciting activities around,” said Yao.
“It’s in the South, so it’ll be a nice change of pace compared to the North,” said Yao.
Despite having a heavy AP workload and a high academic standing, Yao still participates in the extracurricular activities of trombone and swimming. For trombone, he plays in the WA Honors Symphonic Band and the Boston Youth Symphony of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras. For swimming, he swims for the Patriots Swim Club outside of WA. He has also been swimming on the varsity high school team since he was a freshman. He holds a leadership position as captain of the WA boys’ swim team during the 2014-2015 swimming season.
Besides his academic and extracurricular success, Yao has also been commended for his work ethic and personality.
“He is committed to doing well, both in and out of the classroom, and despite his tremendous success, he remains humble, kind, and disciplined,” said English teacher Kim Hart.
